The Return of Peter Pan
by sadfoe
Summary: When Sheppard gets bad news he and Ronon return to Earth once more, mishap and adventure ensue as usual. This is a continuation of my story Things that go bump in the night but I have aimed to make it a stand-alone as well. Slight AU, lots of Whump later
1. The cost of waiting

_A/N: hey guys i no its been a while but having started university ive found large chunks of my time consumed by work and clubs so apologies as this has been written for quite a while its just taken me ages to type it up..._

_so here goes... ive just read the new guidelines about putting in authors notes thus this will be the only one i write till im finished... if there are long delays in loading chapters bare with me as i will never leave a story unfinshed thats something i absolutely hate. i have to admit that while there are a few chapters that have been bouncing around in my head for months now, im not entirely sure about where this story is going to take me or you s just sit back relax and enjoy and i will try not to have absolutely massive delays._

_one other thing is that i dont have a beta at the moment and as such i have no one to proofread the story, im currently looking into how to go about getting a beta but unitl that time please let me know if there are any glaring mistakes._

The return of Peter Pan

1: The cost of waiting

Colonel John Sheppard walked down the long, nearly deserted, corridors of Atlantis grumbling all the way. "We can go faster than walk you know Ronon."

The big man just snorted and kept walking, never altering his pace.

"my legs are fine you know!" Sheppard groused. He was sick of the slow pace his physiotherapy was taking. It had been two months since the incident on P3X-595. His primary problem had been the surgical incision that ran from his chest to his navel. It had cut right through his stomach muscles in-order to access the many fragments of bullet that had littered his insides.

On the surface it looked as though he was completely healed, with pink scar tissue adorning the previous entry and exit wounds from the bullet, the burns spanning the bottom-half of his back and the various surgical incisions that had been made in order to save his life.

Beneath the surface however, was a completely different matter. His stomach muscles were still knitting back together and he had undergone yet another bout of surgery just two weeks previously to repair the tendons and ligaments in his shoulder. As a result, his steady jogs had returned to meandering walks as the sling securing his arm impeded his progress.

All Ronon said to his previous outburst was; "Doc's orders"

Sheppard sighed, he knew better than to cross Keller by defying her orders, he had after all managed to tear his stitches on at least two separate occasions in the past two months.

The injuries weren't even the worst of Sheppard's problems. It was the side-effects of the drugs he had been given, as well as the permanent implants he had involuntarily received, whilst on the planet. He now had small, round objects implanted every couple of inches along his spine, starting just below the base of his skull and finishing at his waist. The bottom one flashed rhythmically with the beating of his heart whilst the others lit up periodically indicating the amount of pain he was in or the amount of strain he was under physically.

There had been any number of times he had cursed those devices as Keller had used them to gauge how far to go with his physio – not allowing him to push himself further than she deemed necessary.

Not only that, but the cocktail of drugs that had been introduced to his system had reacted with his ATA gene and, as a result, he could now heal any injury with the slightest skin to skin contact. Most people on the base thought this was terrific but that was only because they were unaware of the effects healing another person had on Sheppard himself. The one occasion in which he had healed someone on a large scale had set him back weeks in his own healing.

"Fine" Sheppard finally said, snapping out of his contemplation "we cant jog but surely we could at least walk faster, I'm getting bored of this particular corridor."

Ronon was saved from replying as Colonel Carter approached them, a grim look on her face "Colonel, I was just coming to see you. Do you have a minute?"

"You know the last time you said that to me you proceeded to tell me that my father was dead." Carter's grim expression did not abate and Sheppard's heart fell. "Just tell me" he told her not wanting the tension to build any further.

"It's your brother, he's not dead…" the unsaid yet hung in the sir and Sam cleared her throat before continuing "He's apparently been fighting a rare form of cancer for a while now but it's matastasised and the doctors have given him less than an week… he wants to see you."

Sheppard knew that carter hated being the barer of any bad news and said immediately "I'd like to request some leave to return… home." The word home sounded foreign to him but never-the-less he said it.

"Of course Colonel Permission granted. Our next communication with earth is set for tomorrow, I think we can send you back then." They all knew the Deadalus would take far too long and Sheppard was grateful for the suggestion.

"Thank you ma'am" he said, not entirely sure how to end the conversation quickly but politely.

"I'd like to go with him" Ronon piped up. Sam had to fight the surprised look that she could feel bubbling just below the surface "I think that can be arranged." She replied battle won. "As long as Colonel Sheppard doesn't mind"

John shook his head. The last time he had been back to earth Ronon had come and it had been comforting to have someone he considered to be his best friend along for the ride. He also knew that Ronon was chafing at the bit, with Sheppard out of action the team had been on enforced down-time. Rodney had leapt at the chance to get all his minions back in a row and, while Ronon and Teyla had occasionally assisted other teams offworld things had been quiet for them. Teyla had taken the opportunity to take Torren to the new Athosian settlement offworld and Ronon had been left with far too much time on his hands.

After the sixth enlisted marine had ended up in the infirmary Keller had taken matters into her own hands; charging him with making sure Sheppard didn't stray from her strict guidelines.

"We should start getting our gear together…" John stopped as a though crossed his mind; "will I have any problems with the IOA when I get back?" he was referring to the fact that Carter had had to fight tooth and nail so that he could remain as head of Atlantis' military contingent after the IOA had expressed concerns regarding his _condition_ and their eagerness for him to return to earth where tests could be run by impartial scientists to establish just how compromised he truly was.

"Don't worry about them" Carter told him confidently "I have friends who are willing to help out"

John didn't miss the small smile that played across her lips.

* * *


	2. Companions

It took less than ten minutes for Sheppard to pack everything he could take back with him as he wouldn't need his BDUS. He knew that a trip to his apartment would be required if he wanted any normal clothes and probably a quick stop at a clothes store so that Ronon had even a chance of fitting in.

Once he was done he sat on his bed thinking about everything he needed to do whilst the implications of the fact that his brother dying hit home.

There was a trill from the door as someone ran their hand over the door control. The door remained stubbornly closed as they responded to Sheppard's unconscious emotions.

Whoever was on the other side of the door started knocking instead. "Don't make me get Rodney." Ronon's voice threatened from the other side of the door.

Ronon's threat snapped Sheppard out of his musings and he willed the door open, he couldn't help but smile slightly. There had been more than one occasion in which Rodney had been required open a jammed door.

Ever since he had woken in the infirmary the systems in Atlantis had responded to his every whim- lights and doors were the most obvious ones but his new connection had revealed startling adaptations in the city.

During one particular incident everyone in the city had been shocked to discover that there were special shutters that came down over the windows in case of emergencies. The system had been damaged at some point and it was only when Sheppard had felt threatened that the city had forced power through alternative pathways in order to assist him in achieving his goals.

This discovery had left Rodney speechless as he worked to figure out what else the city was concealing. Thankfully, this had meant that he had not yet started haranguing Sheppard to see what else he could do.

Despite Rodney forgetting about his startling new powers Sheppard was still wishing that he could make the rest of the city forget. They all knew about the injuries he had sustained as those in the gate-room on the day of their return had relayed the story and, after a decidedly un-thought out incident in the infirmary they also knew about his abilities.

This meant that the soldiers looked at him with even more respect whilst the scientists varied from mistrust to awe to looking at him like some sort of lab rat. The later was the most disconcerting because Sheppard was extremely aware of how dedicated some of them were to their research and the fact that some of the research was centred on the ancient gene. Needless to say he had started to avoid the geneticists.

Ronon entered his room but didn't say anything just sat in the only chair in the room. He seemed to realise that while it wasn't a good idea for Sheppard to be on his own he also didn't need empty conversation and so instead the two sat in companionable silence, waiting for the time when they could step through the gate to earth.


	3. Quarantine

**Chapter 3: Quarantine**

Ronon and Sheppard stepped through the event horizon and emerged on the steel walkway of the SGC gateroom. The oddly empty room contained only two people, one of them turned away from them and shouted towards the control booth "Thanks Walter, why don't you go and get some coffee?"

Sheppard saw a short man with grey hair stand up and leave the room without ever looking back. Turning back to the two people standing in front of him Sheppard recognised both of them. General Landry and Colonel Mitchell both had the same, slightly amused look on their faces.

"Welcome home Colonel Sheppard" Landry greeted "I hear you've been up to quite a lot since the last time we saw each other." He indicated Sheppard's immobilised arm as he talked.

"Never a dull day, sir" Sheppard quipped, in a surprisingly good mood all things considered.

"I'm afraid we can't send you on your way until the twenty-four hour quarantine has been observed but doctor Lam will be discreet and we've managed to keep the number of personnel that know about your arrival to an absolute minimum"

"I appreciate that sir, the IOA have been a bit of a problem at home, the keep threatening to send Woolsey again."

"Yes they can be like that, frequently. Anyway, if you would follow us, Colonel Mitchell will be joining you for the next week or so, enforced down-time." He added throwing Mitchell a look. Mitchell just shrugged and gave Sheppard a look that said; you know what its like.

They started to walk down a corridor but within a few minutes Sheppard began to feel a gnawing aches that began to intensify with every step he took. Taking a deep breath, that stretched unhealed muscles, he stopped. "We're not going to the infirmary are we?" he couldn't stop the slight note of apprehension in his voice but thankfully only Ronon seemed to notice.

"yes, its standard procedure for quarantine" Landry replied, obviously confused.

"Look, I know this is unusual but is there any chance we could go somewhere else" he had to fight the urge to plead.

Landry was scrutinising him now "Why?"

Sheppard was at a loss for words but Ronon spoke up for the first time. "Sheppard doesn't do well around injured people"

"That doesn't really answer my question son" Landry told him.

Sighing, Sheppard made a decision and closed his eyes, concentrating on the numerous aches that were vying for his attention "There are three people in your infirmary at the moment… one has a broken arm…and toe…odd mixture… another one has an electrical burn on his…left hand and the third… he's running a fever, I'm not sure but I think he has a chest infection.

"He's right you know" came a female voice from further up the hallway, "What I want to know is how he knows about Stanley's chest, I only just got the test results myself"

Caroline Lam walked towards them waving a sheet of paper in the air.

"Look it's a really long storey but basically I can feel people's injuries. It's not so bad here but if I go into the infirmary it will feel like the injuries have happened to me and no amount of painkillers will help, god knows Dr Keller's tried, because I'm not physically injured.

"That… sucks!" Mitchell exclaimed. Turning to general Landry he continued "surely we can use some of the spare staff quarters… or even the isolation room?"

Landry appeared to consider it before turning to his daughter "What do you think Caroline?"

"They will do just as well as the infirmary. If anything they may be better as they'll be more discreet." She admitted, all the while scrutinising Sheppard.

"Ok then" said Landry, turning down one of the side corridors.

Sheppard instantly knew it was away from the infirmary as the oppressive ache began to lift and he straightened, he hadn't even realised he was hunched over until that point.

"I'll need to run some standard tests, bp, heart rate, temperature, once you are settled, just to establish a base line to work from." Dr Lam said as they walked.

"Its nothing we haven't experienced a million times Doc, standard procedure" Sheppard commented.

"You Pegasus boys land yourselves in the infirmary frequently I hear." Mitchell playfully nudged.

"No more than you I should think Colonel Mitchell" Dr Lam said, bringing a smile to Sheppard and Ronon's faces.

"We'll have to swap stories" Mitchell continued, pretending not to hear, "General Landry wont let us read your mission reports" grinning himself he added; "He seems to think that we might get bad ideas."

"do you blame me?" General Landry asked, sounding slightly frustrated.

"Never sir, I know you are just looking out for us"

Sheppard couldn't decide whether Mitchell was joking or serious but he was saved the trouble when the three people walking in front of him stopped outside a grey door that looked no different to the half dozen others they had passed in the last several minutes.

"Do you ever get depressed down here, what with the lack of windows and all the concrete?" he asked as they opened the door to a room that had two single beds with standard army-issue bedding."

"Not really. We all see enough of the surface that it's not really an issue." Dr Lam said before; "I'm afraid this is it for you for the next fourty-eight hours or so until we can give you the all clear. I'll be back in half an hour or so with the equipment I need. In the mean time I suggest you get settled."

True to her word doctor Lam returned half an hour later carrying a bag from which she pulled a thermometer, a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope among other items. "Ok Ronon why don't we start with you? If you could roll up your sleeve so I can take your blood pressure…"

For the next fifteen minutes Sheppard watched as Lam checked Ronon's blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, temperature, eyes, ears and throat, all the while suspecting that although she was being incredibly thorough with Ronan she would be more so with him.

He wasn't wrong… when she turned her attention to him her eyes went straight to his immobilised arm "how old is that injury Colonel?" she asked even as her eyes continued to scan him for any other obvious signs of injury.

He had been lying on the bed but as she turned her attention to him he swung his legs over the side of the bed and, using his good arm rather than his stomach muscles, he sat up. "The original injury is about two months old but I've had surgery twice since then." He admitted

"Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Feel free" he told her as he manoeuvred himself out of his tee-shirt without disturbing his arm with the ease of lots of practice.

He felt rather than saw Lam's eyes glide over the other scars visible on his torso before settling on his shoulder. Even as she began to probe his should she said; "that's quite the collection of scars… Colonel Mitchell will be jealous"

"What exactly will I be jealous of?" came a voice from the doorway.

They all looked up to see Mitchell leaning against the doorframe.

Sheppard felt a slight flush in his cheeks as Mitchell's eyes ran over his body but his embarrassment was eased as Mitchell said; "I haven't seen that particular collection of scars before… I'll have to show you mine at some point, especially my lower back and my leg." He smiled as he said it, indicating he had known exactly what Lam had been saying.

"Yes well you can save that for some other time" Lam commented as she took out her stethoscope. "What are you doing…." She trailed off as something caught her attention and her expression turned to one of confusion. "Would you turn around for me colonel?"

Until this point Sheppard had had his back facing the wall and his heart sunk as she realised what had caught her attention. He sighed as he turned around.

"What are those!?" came the exclamation from the doorway as not only the scars on his back but the implants became visible to the whole room.

"A long story" Sheppard admitted resignedly before saying "They are quite harmless, trust me, McKay has tested them with every device under several suns. They aren't a risk to the base or any personnel; I thought Jennifer had already informed you of that?"

"I'm afraid that piece of information seems to have slipped by Colonel" Dr Lam told him, not without sympathy. "Do you mind if we run a couple of our own tests just to be sure... I know someone who will be very discreet." She told him even as she continued with her examination.

"Go ahead I understand the need to be cautious"

"In that case there are just a few other things I want to do while I've got you here…" she rummaged in her kit before pulling out a needle.

Knowing that she was going to want a sample of his blood, probably to run DNA tests, Sheppard stuck out his arm.

"Do you want my blood too?" Ronon enquired from where he was sitting on the other bed as he watched Lam insert the needle into Sheppard's arm with practiced ease.

"NO you are all right but thanks. This is just a precaution really, no reason to go overboard." She slipped the needle out of his arm and Sheppard noticed the vial of blood she placed in her bag remained unlabelled.

"Cam could you possibly go and get Bill? He should be in his lab, the scientists never take my advice about getting sufficient sleep."

That made both Sheppard and Ronon smile and Ronon asked; "Have you ever met McKay?"

The grimace on her face said everything "Only briefly but that was more than enough."

"He tends to have that effect on people" Sheppard commented, he hadn't seen the look from where he sat but could hear the tone of her voice "He grows on you he just doesn't make a good first impression. I find the best method with him is to reign him back with the threat of lemons and if you can manage to resist the urge to strangle him for the first few weeks then he mellows – slightly."

Sheppard kept talking more out of the need to distract himself as Lam went back to probing the surgical wound in his shoulder. He was starting to regret not taking the pain-killers that Keller had prescribed him.

Thankfully at that moment there was a knock on the door and the prodding stopped. Sheppard turned very slightly to see a short, squat, slightly balding man follow Mitchell into the room.

The short man was muttering things about remembering to leave his phone at home next time he went on holiday. The man stopped short at seeing the half dressed man in front of him. "I had to go a bit further a-field to find him" Mitchell admitted

Sheppard was starting to get used to the reaction that the short man was having but it was still irritating never-the-less. The man pulled himself back together quickly and proceeded to surprise both Sheppard and Ronon by merely saying; "you've been through the wars lately." Neglecting to say anything about the implants.

"You could say that" John admitted, intensely grateful to the scientist for not making things even more awkward. "The Pegasus Galaxy doesn't like us very much."

"Oh so you are one of them then?" the scientist asked as he started to pull something out of a large silver case.

"Them?" Ronon inquired.

Sheppard thought he knew what the scientist was talking about but Ronon, who had lived his entire life under the threat of the wraith attacking, didn't catch on to the implications.

"Yes one of them… people who live in a city that seems to be constantly under threat of being destroyed… I hear there are actually people who like it there."

Sheppard who was one of those "people" knew that the little man was only joking and decided to act offended "We're not _always_ under attack" he protested in a whiny voice, reminiscent of Rodney when he wasn't getting his own way. Looking over his shoulder he saw the look on the man's face and felt the need to submit "ok, just a lot of the time."

He winked and the man smiled. Doctor Lam took the opportunity to say "Ronon, Colonel Sheppard, this is Dr Bill Lee" turning to bill she decided to get down to business. "The bottom object flashes continuously whilst the others tend to flash briefly and quite often it's a different number that flash."

"That's normal." Ronon told her helpfully from where he sat.

"Well as normal as things get." Sheppard quantified. "The bottom one is synchronised with my heart beat and the others… they register physical exertion."

"Or pain." Ronon piped up again.

Sheppard gave him a look, wondering what had caused Ronon to be so chirpy and helpful – by Ronon's standards.

As what Ronon had said sunk in Lam frowned at Sheppard and admonished him; "Why didn't you tell me I was causing you that much pain?"

Sheppard looked to Mitchell for support from where he stood in the door but the man just shrugged looking slightly helpless. He obviously knew better than to get involved.

"It's not a big deal." Sheppard old her weakly, knowing he wasn't going to get away with that.

"We will talk about this later." Se said in a tone so much like Keller and Carson's when they were annoyed with him that Sheppard was starting to think that it was something they were taught at medical school.

Bill chose this moment t interrupt. "As far as I can tell these devices are fairly passive all things considered. They don't appear to be transmitting any sort of data what-so-ever and, while they are obviously connected to Colonel Sheppard's nervous system, they don't appear to be affecting him in any sort of way."

"They are a little uncomfortable" Sheppard admitted "but other than that I wouldn't even know they were there."

Satisfied for the time being Lam said; "We'll leave you be for a while, I suggest you try and sleep." She looked pointedly at Sheppard as she said this, making it blatantly obvious that this wasn't a suggestion.

"We will." Sheppard assured her not wanting to land himself in yet another doctor's bad books. They did, after all, frequently wield sharp point objects.

"good." She said as she began to head towards the door. "Oh Bill, you need to stay on base for forty-eight hours now." She said to the man as they walked out the door.

Sheppard heard him say something about his holiday and Lam assuring him that Landry would compensate for the lost days.

"We should try and get some rest." He told Ronon as the conversation continued out of earshot.

"I'm not tired" Ronon said as Sheppard lay back down.

"suit yourself" Sheppard said using his good arm to pick up the TV remote from the table next to his bed and tossing it over to Ronon. "When you get bored use that." He knew it would only be a matter of time before the big man got restless but despite what he had said to Lam and the face he was still maintaining in front of Ronon he felt drained and knew that there was going to be even less time to sleep in the following days. "I think you'll find some of the programmes entertaining… if you're lucky you might even catch a re-run of wormhole extreme." Sheppard was being sarcastic about wormhole extreme but Ronon didn't need to know that.


	4. Arrangements

_A/N:Ok so i no i said no notes but felt an apology was called for and a promise that i havent forgotten this story... the next chapter will be up sometime this week_

* * *

**Chapter 4: Arrangements**

For the rest of their stay Lam did leave them alone. The only person they saw over the next 48 hours was Colonel Mitchell who brought them meals. After 48 hours had passed and neither of them had morphed into Neanderthals, or indeed shown any sign of sickness, Lam decided they were clear. Before she let them go however she insisted on giving them another once-over, checking Sheppard's shoulder once more. Sheppard grumbled about not being able to do anything locked in a room for such a short space of time but Lam merely smiled saying "you forget I've had to deal with colonel Mitchell for the past couple of years... my views on what a person is capable of doing to themselves have changed vastly in that time."

"Ok" she continued "you're both cleared. Colonel Mitchell will be along soon to pick you up. He and general Landry have arranged transport to Sloane-Kettering cancer research centre where your brother currently is. You'll be leaving the base in an hour."

"Thanks Doc, you don't know how much I appreciate all the help." Sheppard replied letting his gratitude seep into his voice.

"You are welcome Colonel, just take care of yourself. I don't want to have to explain to Colonel Carter and the rather over-protective medical staff on Atlantis why I'm not sending their military commander back in more-or-less one piece." She said this last bit, pointedly looking at his shoulder.

"So I'm not the only one who thinks our medical staff go overboard just a little?"

Lam was saved from answering this enquiry by Mitchell knocking on the door as he came through it. He was wearing dress uniform and carried another set in his arms.

"Seriously? That's low key?" Sheppard said as he took in the sight. He had never really enjoyed wearing the uniform or all the attention that came with it.

"Yep we're travelling commercial, paid for by Uncle Sam. You know the dress rules for travelling on air force business Shep." Mitchell told him, grinning.

"Yeah I do." Sheppard admitted as he took the clothes that Mitchell was holding out.

"Don't worry I haven't forgotten you big guy." Mitchell continued turning to Ronon and throwing him a pair of jeans and a white shirt. "You would attract more attention than us if you went dressed like that." He added indicating Ronon's normal clothes.

Sheppard had to admit to himself that Mitchell was right about that even as he shrugged off his top so as to pull on the stiff white dress shirt.

"That's an interesting mark on your wrist." Mitchell commented seeing the small black scar for the first time.

Sheppard pulled a face as he buttoned up the shirt. "Yeah you could say that... it was an old man's sick joke; he branded every one of his captives. Ronon was the (()) of good fortune the old man was...inconvenienced before he could get any further. It was a clever chemical that turned it black, I can almost pass it off as a tattoo..."

"Yeah except you can't get rid of it." Ronon commented as he stood up, he had already finished getting changed. Sheppard always thought he looked out of place the few times he had seen him in smarter clothes, they just weren't Ronon.

"All set?" Mitchell asked as Sheppard pulled on his jacket and re-secured his arm in the sling, finally donning his hat.

"Yep" he replied, knowing he was going to have to walk through the base dressed as he was, and hope not to draw any attention.

"Ok, we're flying out of Colorado Springs so we should be in New York in a few hours." Mitchell informed them as he opened the door leading to the corridor, "then it's on to the hospital. We've got an hours' drive at least. We found a place that we can rent for a while as I'm not sure how long you're staying." By the time he had finished speaking they were already halfway down the corridor, moving at a brisk walk.

Sheppard was tempted to keep his head down and avoid eye contact but was well aware of the fact that, on a base such as this, that attitude was more likely to draw attention especially when it was an officer who was displaying such behaviour. As such he looked straight ahead trying to exude a cold, uncaring indifference.

As soon as they were in the lift he dropped the mask, thankful that they had not met anyone on the short trip, but he still couldn't relax, knowing that they would have to show their IDs to the guard at the gate as they went through the standard security procedures required to leave the base.

None of them spoke on the short journey to the surface, the tension almost palpable, but as the door started to slide open Mitchell said in a low voice; "relax guys we're almost out"

Sheppard tried to do as Mitchell suggested and beside him he heard Ronon breathing out in one long, slow breath releasing the tension as Teyla had show him. Having relaxed as much as he could Sheppard took a step out of the lift and blinked as the bright sunlight contrasted the dull lighting of the base.

Before he really had a chance to organise his thoughts a voice in front of him exclaimed "Colonel Sheppard!"

Blinking rapidly in an effort to clear the sun spots from his eyes Sheppard saw the silhouette of a tall man in uniform heading towards them. He immediately tensed but as his vision began to clear Sheppard realised that he recognised the young man as a marine that had rotated through Atlantis almost a year ago.

"Sinclaire? You've fallen a bit if they've put you on guard." There was a hint of a smile on his face but confusion still dominated.

"No sir, this is just a special occasion."

"Sinclaire volunteered for guard duty when we found out you were coming. Most of the soldiers here hate the IOA but just to be on the safe side we thought we'd put someone on guard who's loyalty could be one hundred percent trusted." Mitchell explained as he led them through the gates, bypassing the biosensors, and out into the carpark.

Sheppard felt gratitude welling up inside him and as he exited through the gate he turned and commented over his shoulder "Come and find me next time you rotate though Atlantis and stay safe."

Sinclaire smiled broadly as he returned to his post.

Within minutes they were in Mitchells car and speeding away from the base. Sheppard could feel some of the tension draining out of him as he watched the land passing by outside the car. He could admit to himself that he did miss earth and the blissful ignorance of a majority of its inhabitants.

Mitchell broke through his thoughts as he said; "I've got some civilian clothes for you to wear whilst you're here. I had to guess sizes but I'm fairly sure they'll fit"

"where did you find clothes to fit Chewie?" Sheppard joked, relieved that he didn't have to deal with that particular issue.

"I had some help" Mitchell confided, smiling in good nature.


	5. Travel of a commercial sort

**Chapter 5: Travel**

When they reached the airport Mitchell parked in the long term car park explaining as he did so; "we don't know how long before you are ready to come back, plus the IOA is footing the bill, they just don't know it."

Sheppard and Ronon both smiled at this, there was no love lost between any military personnel and the IOA but they were more distrustful of the IOA due to their past experiences dealing with the paper pushers.

As they walked into the main terminal, Ronon carrying Sheppard's bags as well as his own. Sheppard hunched up minutely in discomfort at the attention their uniforms were attracting. Walking towards the ticket desk he could feel several pairs of eyes following their every move.

"This is worse than I remember." He muttered to Ronon "It's bad enough being in one place with this many people but I'm so aware of every single person watching me." Ronon just nodded in agreement.

"Relax" Mitchell said, so lowly that no one else could possibly overhear, "no one here is going to attack or ambush you, they are just curious." He was intensely aware of how tense his companions were. It wasn't possible to imagine exactly what it was like for them, after all, normally when they were in a strange crowded place surrounded by strangers they had to be constantly on their guard. Mitchell understood this but unlike Sheppard and Ronon he had the opportunity to kick back and relax after work in a way that just wasn't possible on Atlantis.

Reaching the ticket desk Mitchell took charge, smiling down at the girl sitting behind it. "hi there, we're booked on the nine thirty-seven flight to JFK."

The girl's bored face lit up as her eyes came to rest on the well-built men standing before her. "Of course, can I see some ID please?"

Her eyes glinted cheekily as she watched the three pull out their ID. Sheppard and Mitchell both pulled out their military ID while Ronon located the piece of plastic that the air force had issued him on his previous visit.

"Thank you very much... Colonel Mitchell" the girl said as she checked the ID they handed her. "You'll be pleased to know to know you've been upgraded to Business class... these are your boarding passes, the plane leaves from gate 10. I hope you have a good flight."

All three smiled as they took their passes and ID. Some of the tension that Sheppard was feeling drained as he started to remember the peace of mind he used to have in crowded places.

Approaching security Ronon watched with mild surprise as the people in front of him started to remove their shoes. Looking back at Sheppard he saw the man give a one shouldered shrug before adding "Terrorism has changed air travel, you should have seen security fifteen years ago, practically non-existent."

Ronon just shook his head and bent down to undo his shoelaces. He heard minute moan, so quiet he wasn't sure he at first if he had heard anything at all. Turning around he was just in time to hear Mitchell, who already had his shoes off, asking Sheppard if he needed a hand. Ronon could see from the stubborn set of Sheppard's shoulders that he was going to refuse. Instead, once he had his shoes off Sheppard said; "I'm going to need to take this sling off, it's got metal parts, could you just unclip it please?"

Mitchell nodded and quickly stepped behind Sheppard to undo the clasp before stepping up to the x-ray machine and depositing his hat, jacket and shoes on the belt then stepping through the detector and heading to the other end of the x-ray machine to collect his belongings.

Sheppard did the same, adding his sling to the top of the pile. Moving gingerly he walked through the metal detector but, as he stepped through a shrill beeping erupted from the detector indicating the presence of metal. Sheppard quickly checked his pockets with his good hand for loose change he may have overlooked even as a security guard approached. "Would you please step to the side sir." The guard asked politely.

Sheppard nodded, slightly worried. As he moved he said to Mitchell "I guess the doc missed a piece" turning back to the guard he said; "look, I got shot a few months ago and the bullet fragmented, I don't have a doctor's note because the doctor thought she got all the pieces. I can show you the scars if that will help."

The man hesitated in indecision and Sheppard, deciding he'd rather reveal the scars on his front than risk the discovery of the devices on his back, pulled his shirt up careful to keep the back of it tucked into his trousers.

Sheppard heard some of the other passengers who were passing murmur as the pink scars came into view but blocked out them out, focusing solely on the man standing in front of him. After thirty seconds the man nodded and said; "I believe you... good luck out there."

Sheppard nodded his thanks pulling his shirt back down. At that moment the metal detector once more went off as Ronon stepped through. Looking at the beeping, flashing machine Ronon quickly added; "I have a note."

Ronon had been shot at the same time as Sheppard but due to some accidental healing on Sheppard's part he still had a bullet buried in his shoulder due to the fact that the surgical team had decided it would do more harm to remove it than to leave it be.

By the time all the relevant paperwork had been sorted, Sheppard had donned his jacket and shoes and Mitchell was in the process of helping him re-secure his arm. "Yet another eventful chapter in the life of an officer serving on the front line" Mitchell joked as he did so

"I'm not sure I would classify our job as front line" Sheppard admitted equally as quietly "More like deep behind enemy lines"

"I see where you're coming from."

By this point they were all sorted and headed towards their assigned departure gate. The one advantage of being held up at security was that they didn't have long to wait before the plane began boarding. None of them were in any rush and as such they waited until all the other passengers had boarded before they themselves boarded.

Stepping onto the plane Sheppard commented "I love flying but this is a bus with wings... I can't stand commercial airlines. I'm more of a behind the controls guy anyway."

Ronon smiled, he knew all too well what Sheppard was like. An action man at heart Ronon understood all too well how difficult it was for Sheppard to do nothing. "It's only going to be for a couple of hours I'm sure you'll survive, after all you've endured worse."

Sheppard smiled playfully saying "I'm not sure... I think this may be up there." He was trying to take his mind off the people staring at them as they moved through the cabin looking for their seats.

"You know this whole staring thing gets really old really fast." He added as he finally found what he was looking for. He huffed lightly in what could almost have been mistaken for a sigh as he noticed the large, round eyes of a small boy who was watching their every move. Remembering where he was he turned to Mitchell and asked; "Are there ever times, especially when you're recovering from injury, that you regret your decision to join the programme?"

Mitchell thought about the question for a minute before answering. "the worse injury I suffered occurred before I joined the programme. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into so... no I guess."

"See I didn't have a clue what I was getting myself into. I supposed there are times when I get down but my team is my family and I would never take back my decision."

Ronon who had been listening smiled and said "Admit it Sheppard, if it wasn't for us Keller would have had to resort to restraints a long time ago to keep you in the infirmary."

"Hey!" Sheppard protested before smiling "I never said I was a good patient, only that I didn't regret my decision."

"I understand what you mean about the infirmary" Mitchell admitted "I think most frontline soldiers do, it's a required character flaw. I do know of soldiers who regretted joining the programme but they are few and far between and they are usually transferred out again fairly quickly."

"By the time they get to us they are rearing for action. I've never had a regretful soldier but we do get the occasional scientist who missed the memo on the fact that we are usually in mortal danger. They get reassigned fairly quickly, it's bad for morale."

"I hear you there, we try to get rid of those types fairly quickly as well, they cause far too many problems otherwise."

They lapsed into silence as each thought about various problems they had had in the past.

Sheppard saw Ronon smile and looked in the same general direction and he too smiled when he saw what Ronon had seen, a small ear angled in their direction.

Speaking in an exaggerated stage whisper he said; "I think we have a spy among us."

Mitchell looked mystified for a second until he heard a giggle and turned to see the boy with big eyes looking at them. "Oh well in that case he must know all about the spaceships and aliens."

The boy sighed in frustration thinking that they were pulling his leg and that all the interesting conversation was over.

The trio passed the rest of the flight in relative silence. Sheppard spent a large portion of his time trying to learn how to control his oversensitive awareness of other peoples pain. He tried his best to force his awareness out as far as possible glad that there were only a couple of headaches and a mild cold to deal with, before pulling it all back in, each time trying ever harder to shut out what everyone around him was feeling. By the end of the flight, as they were coming in for a slightly bumpy landing, Sheppard was fairly happy with what he had managed to achieve; only feeling the small paper cut on the man sitting behind him.

He was fairly sure that with concentration he could maintain a one meter area around himself, meaning that only people in his immediate vicinity would affect him. This was a major relief as he had been more than a little apprehensive about going into a hospital, let alone one that was full of people dying from cancer.

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_A/N: ok so i know i said i would have this chapter up weeks ago but the microsoft word on my computer stopped working and then i ahd exams to deal with so this is the first chance ive had sorry guys... i have to admit a few reviews might help motivate me a bit, let me know what you think so far... are the characters true to form, is it working as a stand alone? i know the last few chapters have been a bit slow for those of you who are action/whump loving, dont worry things are going to pickk up soon and for the time being ENJOY!_


	6. Change and Chances

**Chapter 6: Change and chances**

When they disembarked from the plane in New York Mitchell went to rent a car while Sheppard and Ronon went to get changed. Ronon didn't need to change but Sheppard got the impression he wasn't willing to leave his team leader on his own in a strange place, regardless of how frequently he was assured it was perfectly safe.

Sheppard sighed in relief as he saw the individual cubicles he could get changed in, thankful that he wasn't going to have to get Ronon to barricade the toilets. He slipped into one of the cubicles and with the ease of practice slipped out of his uniform and into a pair of jeans and a turtleneck jumper, silently sending his thanks to whoever had had the foresight to give him a top with a neck that would cover the implant on the back of his neck.

He knew that he should probably have waited to find somewhere more secure to change but as well as being incredibly uncomfortable and drawing unwanted attention Sheppard knew that it could cause tensions with his brother, after all, his joining the air force had been a major bone of contention within the family for years.

Ronon was waiting for him just outside the door. Sheppard noticed with amusement that more than one person looked back at Ronon as they walked by, some with apprehension and more than one with admiration.

"Can we go now?" Ronon asked, a hint of irritation in his voice, Sheppard concluded that Ronon had noticed the same thing that he had.

"Yep, let's go and find the car rental area, that's where Cam said to meet him."

Walking through the airport Sheppard stumbled as someone with a broken leg encroached upon his consciousness but, remembering what he had been practicing on the plane; Sheppard gathered himself up and managed to catch himself before he actually fell. Seeing Ronon's questioning look and he just said; "I had a lapse in concentration, don't worry I'm fine."

Before the conversation could go any further Sheppard changed the subject saying "There's Cam, over there." Indicating where he meant. Cam was standing with his back to them talking to the girl behind the counter, but as they approached he turned and smiled holding up a set of keys. "You set?" he asked.

"About as much as we're going to be." Sheppard admitted heading towards the exit and the car park beyond.

"The clinic is not all that far from here but knowing New York traffic it should take about an hour to get there."

Sheppard nodded, relieved that he had a bit more time to compose himself and figure out what he was going to say to his dying brother.

Stepping out into the brisk autumn wind Sheppard and Ronon pulled on jackets, Sheppard thinking of the extra layer of protection the jacket offered not only against the elements but also against the implants in his back being detected. He hated how self conscious they had made him.

Ronon was obviously in a world of his own as he commented; "I still can't believe how many people you manage to cram into such a small area." Looking towards the distant sky scrapers as he did.

"I can understand the reasons why the wraith are so desperate to get here. If you were starving and you knew there was a cache of food out there that could feed you indefinitely wouldn't you do anything in your power to find it?"

"Let's not talk about the wraith and feeding huh?" Sheppard requested subconsciously rubbing the area of his chest where the scar from his own experience of being fed on by the wraith still lingered.

"Bad memories?" Mitchell asked, he hadn't missed the involuntary action and made a mental note to ask about it at some point.

"Let's just say first had experience on the topic."

"And general Landry complains about the frequency I land myself in trouble... your team would probably give him and early coronary."

"It does take a special kind of person to command Atlantis" Sheppard admitted smiling now.

By this time they had reached the car and Mitchell had unlocked it. "I'll sit in the back" Sheppard told Ronon "You need more room to stretch and besides, I could do with a nap." Sheppard wasn't really all that tired but he wanted the time to just relax and compose his thoughts. He wasn't even sure why his brother wanted to see him. They had begun to repair broken bridges after their father's funeral but they were far from close. Sheppard was willing to admit that was probably why his brother waited so long to let him know what was going on.

Slipping into the back seat Sheppard leaned back and shut his eyes. He drifted for the rest of the journey; sometimes deep in his own thoughts, other times listening as Mitchell attempted to explain the peculiarities of New York City to Ronon.

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_A/N: i felt bad about the lenght of times between uploads so heres another short chapter... things start to pick up from here_


	7. Reunions

**Chapter 7: Reunions **

Eventually he felt the car slow to a complete stop and Cam turned the engine off before turning in his seat and saying; "We're here, Ronon and I will wait in the car if you want to be alone."

Sheppard was already more than aware that they had arrived, he had felt the oppressive pain of dozens of sick people descend upon him a block away and he had been desperately concentrating in the hopes of blocking it out. Looking at the building they were now parked outside Sheppard sighed deeply, truthfully he didn't know how his brother was going to react to him bringing friends but he wasn't sure whether he would be able to cope on his own and remain grounded at the same time. "No, come in, I might need the support." He meant physically and hated having to admit it but the other two seemed to understand.

"Ok then," Mitchell said "just let us know us know if you want to leave, or if you think you need anything else come to think of it."

Sheppard just nodded, silently thanking them for not asking any questions.

Stepping out of the car he hunched over slightly for a few seconds as a wave of pain washed over him before he could block it out. Straightening up again he pushed the pain back and, taking a deep breath said; "let's get this over with"

Both of his companions could see the strain on his face but opted not to say anything.

Meanwhile Sheppard was trying to figure out what had possessed him to agree to go somewhere where there were so many sick people. He was managing to keep the pain at bay for the most part but it was taking an incredible amount of concentration to achieve his goal. It was going to be a while still before he managed to control this particular ability. Walking across the car park he was relieved to find that no further pressure was put on him as the levels of pain he had to deal with remained constant.

He walked straight to the reception desk when he realised he had no idea where he needed to go, all the while the comforting presence of Ronon and Mitchell was never far behind.

The guy at the desk didn't look away from his computer as he approached however; as soon as Sheppard began to speak he looked up. He noticed the man's eyes settle on his slung arm briefly before returning to his face. "I..." Sheppard paused as his concentration slipped briefly. Clearing his throat he tried again. "I'm looking for David Sheppard, I was told that I could find him here but I don't know his room number." Realising something else he added; "He's my brother."

A look of sympathy crossed the man's face before his mask of professionalism slipped back into place. "Can I see some identification please?"

For what felt like the thousandth time that day Sheppard pulled his ID and handed it over.

"Mr Sheppard is on the third floor room 309 the elevator is down that corridor." The man indicated the hallway to the left as he returned the ID.

Sheppard silently took back his ID and lead the way towards the elevator. The typical hospital style decor with the linoleum flooring and the off white walls had him feeling uncomfortable as he was reminded of the few times he had landed himself in earth-based hospitals. Granted that hadn't occurred nearly as frequently as it had since his deployment to Atlantis but never-the-less those occasions had been more than a bit uncomfortable and frequently followed by official, and unofficial, reprimands.

The tinny stereotypical elevator music did nothing to assuage his feeling of discomfort, nor his growing nerves. The elevator felt tiny as the tree of them stood there, Ronon filling a vast amount of space and, despite the fact that Sheppard was more than aware of the fact that the elevator was big enough to fit a gurney in, he couldn't quash the slight sense of claustrophobia. In all honesty he hadn't felt this nervous since his father's funeral, despite the hairy situations he had found himself in since that time, less than a year before.

Stepping out of the elevator after what seemed like an age, but was probably only thirty seconds, Sheppard took a deep breath and looking at the signs in front of him, started walking down the corridor to the right.

His brother's room was at the end of the corridor and the quiet calmness of it was probably the best money could buy. Pausing at the door Sheppard couldn't quite bring himself to raise his hand and knock knowing the potential can of worms he may be about to open.

After about a minute a nurse walked up to the door "Are you here to see Mr Sheppard?"

Sheppard merely nodded and Ronon and Mitchell stood back as she opened the door ushering him in.

"Mr Sheppard?" she asked the form in the bed "you have visitors."

The form stirred in the bed before a fairly dishevelled head emerged from beneath the blankets. "Is Sarah here?"

Sheppard cleared his throat uncomfortably as his brothers eyes came to rest on him before moving to his shoulder and then on to Ronon and Mitchell standing out of the way in the corridor. "well if it isn't Peter Pan come back from wherever he spends his time these days, and he's bought the lost boys with him." There was no malice in his voice just good humour that caught Sheppard off guard. "You look like crap little brother."

"Look who's talking Dave, why didn't you let me know earlier what was going on?" Sheppard relaxed when he realised that his brother wasn't going to bite his head off.

"I didn't want to bother you until I knew for sure it was worth trying to get hold of you... who's your friend? I know ... Ronon but I'm not sure I've had the pleasure of meeting the other gentleman."

"Ummm, this is Lieutenant-Colonel Cameron Mitchell. He's giving us a hand getting round for a while... while we're back." Taking this as their que Ronon and Mitchell came into the room.

"Well it's always good to meet some of John's friends; it's been a while since he's bought anyone round to meet the family."

Sheppard hadn't missed the quick glance at his shoulder at the mention of getting help but chose to push that to one side in an effort to avoid further complications to an already complicated situation. Mitchell chose this moment to break the silence that was beginning to build. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you call him Peter Pan?" Sheppard could see the confusion on Ronon's face and grinned slightly at the conversation that would ensue later, out of earshot of Dave, when Ronon demanded an explanation.

"It's a nickname from our childhood; John had a habit of running away when we were younger."

"Thanks Dave," Sheppard quipped; "They really don't need to be regaled with embarrassing stories from our childhood."

"Where's the fun in that little brother?" Dave coughed lightly as he smiled "you've got to admit it comes with the territory when you introduce friends to family."

"I'll give you that." Sheppard relinquished.

Up until this point the nurse had been going about her checks in silence but she chose this point to interrupt "there doesn't seem to be any changes today Mr Sheppard, the Doctor will be by later today to run a few more tests."

Dave just nodded, the Sheppard men weren't big on words when it came to uncomfortable situations, unless it involved the wraith of course then Sheppard seemed to be able to pull smart comments out of thin air.

"Sensing that this may be a good time to leave the brothers alone for a while Mitchell turned to Ronon and said; "I'm really jonsing for a coffee, do you fancy one big guy?" Ronon just nodded, getting the gist of what Mitchell was insinuating and they turned, leaving the room.

"That was subtle." Dave commented after they were out of earshot.

"Yeah," Sheppard admitted, "They're not really chatty guys."

There was a pause as neither of them knew what to say. Looking around the room Sheppard noticed a chair sitting next to the bed. Approaching it he looked at Dave for a sign of approval before sitting. Getting it he settled into the chair sighing as he jostled his shoulder.

"Are you ok?" Dave asked, his sharp eyes not missing anything.

Sheppard snorted "You're the one lying in a hospital bed and you're asking me how I am?"

"I see you're point." Dave grinned

Sheppard took the time to really look at his brother and was discomforted by what he saw. His brother looked pale and drawn and his hair was a lot thinner than it had been the last time they had seen one another. The most striking thing to Sheppard however was the familiar look of a person trying to hide the pain they were feeling. "You look tired... look I'm going to be here for a while so if you are tired just go to sleep, we can talk later when you're up for it."

"Yeah that might not be the worst idea in the world." Dave said, lying back into his bed and shutting his eyes.

Within minutes Sheppard saw his breathing even out into a steady rhythm. "Sleep Dave," he muttered quietly, "You'll feel better soon enough."

He hadn't known until that moment what he was going to do. Knowing that he wasn't supposed to do anything with his ability wasn't going to hold him back, despite the risks involved, not just in the chances of someone discovering what he had done but also the risks to his own health.

Reaching out with his hand he hesitated slightly before opening up his senses to include his brother's pain, feeling the effects of the disease that was destroying his brother from the inside out his breathing hitched but he still had the presence of mind to grab his brothers hand before the pain completely consumed him.


	8. consequences

_A/N: reviews feed my muse and at the moment the muse is starving!_

_in all seriousness thanks to those of you who have reviewed it kicked me back into gear. apologies for the lateness of this as i am struggling to write this story, i have a rough idea of where it is going but the fine details seem to be eluding me so bear with me i will never leave a story unfinished it just may take a while_

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Chapter 8: Consequences

The nurse walked into the room to find the two men asleep. She had come to pick up David Sheppard for his weekly scan to track the progression of his disease.

She smiled as she watched the two men for a minute, it was easy to see that they were brothers from the distinct similarities in their facial structures but there was something about the visitor, a weariness that betrayed his years.

She watched for a few moments longer, frowning the longer she watched. The younger man looked ill, he appeared to be sleeping restlessly and he looked pale. She was slightly confused, despite the fact that David was the one dying he looked healthy in comparison to his younger brother who lay sleeping, slumped on the bed next to him.

Thinking that perhaps she should leave the younger man sleeping she approached the bed and gently shook David waking him and as he looked round she gestured to him to stay quiet while at the same time bringing a wheelchair around for him to manoeuvre into.

Once he had seen the reason she was indicating for him to be quiet David was careful not to jostle his sleeping sibling. He moved without any of the stiffness or pain she had come to associate with cancer sufferers "you seem to be feeling better today Mr Sheppard"

"Mmmm" was David's only reply.

"Well, let's leave your brother to rest, he does look like he needs it, and we'll go and get you checked out."

They were gone for almost an hour and David wasn't sure if he should be worried or not. He had spent a lot longer under the MRI scanner than usual and the puzzled look on the doctor's face, when he had said he would come and discuss the results in a short time after he had had a chance to go over them, had not been reassuring.

When they got back to his room it was to find his brother still fast asleep where they had left him.

"He must be tired poor lad; he looks like he's been through a lot lately." The nurse commented

"yeah." Was all David could muster. He had always been the deep sleeper when they were younger; John had always been a really light sleeper, woken by even the slightest movement or sound. This deep sleep reminded him of a time when John had been sick with pneumonia and had been in hospital for several days.

"I'll leave you to get settled again but I'll be back in a little while if you need anything just press the call button."

David nodded and she left.

He climbed back into bed, jostling it a little as he did so, and still his brother didn't stir. He reached out tentatively with his hand just as the door to his room opened.

Colonel Mitchell and Ronon tensed as soon as they registered the situation. He didn't know exactly what was wrong but he could tell from their expressions that they were instantly worried and he felt the need to explain what was going on "he's been asleep for over an hour now, he didn't even wake when I left the room for a while."

He saw an unintelligible look pass between the two men before Mitchell stepped forward and reached out to John, he also didn't miss the very slight hesitation as Mitchell changed his mind about checking John's pulse and instead shook his shoulder gently.

John stirred but did not wake and it was at this point the doctor chose to enter the room. David was starting to feel a little crowded, not used to being surrounded by so many people at once in recent times. This feeling coupled with worry for his brother caused him to snap at the doctor "What is so mystifying that you couldn't tell me after the test?" From the corner of his eye he saw Mitchell once again shake John, this time slightly more insistently. What the doctor said however caught his full attention.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting but the reason I didn't come sooner is I wanted to be sure of the results..." he paused as if collecting himself before continuing, "I've consulted with several of my colleagues and I'm pleased, although completely baffled, to say that you are completely cancer free."

It was at this point the doctor noticed Mitchell helping a decidedly groggy John to his feet, although no-one else was aware, still taking care not to have any skin to skin contact. "Is your brother alright?"

Mitchell took the opportunity to butt in before David could say anything. "He's fine, it's just the after-effects of an old condition, it'll wear off soon enough."

David was standing now, "John doesn't have any long-term conditions that would cause this." He could see Ronon hovering discreetly in the background, obviously waiting near enough to catch john should he fall.

"M' fine" John mumbled trying to straighten in Mitchell's grip. "Can't a man just be tired?"

At this point he stumbled awkwardly pulling Mitchell sideways.

Everyone in the room lunged to catch him but Ronon and David reached him and stabilised him as Mitchell readjusted his grip. The doctor, having been slightly further away the others had yet to reach the group but began to voice his objections. "I really don't think..."

The voice faded as the small group was engulfed in a bright light.

As the light faded they looked around an unfamiliar room filled with other bemused looking groups of people and John sighed deeply looking at Ronon "Just once I'd like to have a nice normal, quiet trip home without these things butting in."


	9. Meeting

**Chapter 9: Meeting**

"I don't understand why the last time he healed someone he landed in the hospital for another couple of weeks but this time he just seems really tired and a little weak" this was the most Ronon had said in front of Mitchell and the other man was understandably stumped.

"According to the Tok'ra it's easier to heal a disease than a physical injury" stated a voice from behind the small group. As a whole they turned to see General O'Neil walking towards them, a teenage boy beside him "something to do with it being easier to destroy existing cells than it is to create new ones, you'd have to ask Carter if you wanted specifics."

"I would say it's good to see you General but under the circumstances..." Mitchell quipped

"Same goes for you Colonel, Sheppard it's good to see you in one piece, relatively"

"Apparently there's still some contention in the most frequent visitor to the infirmary field sir." John retaliated smiling "Who's this?" he directed at the teenage boy.

"I'm him... mark II" the boy stated grinning "you can call me Jack."

"I'm sorry but what the hell is going on?" Dave chose this point to interrupt.

"You must be David" O'Neil said and, seeing John nod very slightly he continued; "I'm General Jack O'Neil, I'm in charge of Stargate Command and off hand I would say we have been beamed aboard an alien spaceship, although I could be mistaken."

Before Dave could snap out of his shock and formulate any sort of reply angry, raised voices could be heard from nearby; "I told you just to get the ones with the gene! I highly doubt that all of these people have the gene!"

"I'm sorry Pietor I just need to recalibrate the sensors, it looks like instead of bringing everyone in the room it's just the ones that were physically touching the targets, it won't happen again."

"It had better not" the one called Pietor threatened "get this lot separated and cleaned up and remember; this time only one military member per cell, they get ideas otherwise."

"That explains a lot" Commented Mitchell as they began to be herded towards the doors by some very tough looking men.

"How does this explain anything and what's this rubbish about spaceships?" Asked a decidedly nervous looking Dave.

John sighed, he had already figured out what gene they were talking about. "Don't worry about that right now Dave just listen very carefully." John dropped his voice and spoke faster as they approached the doors. From where he was currently standing he could see men holding scanners and splitting people into two groups. "Stick close to me but if we get separated make sure you stay with Ronon and Mitchell, do not let yourself get separated from them. Do you understand?" John gave his brother his most intense look, he could see that he had scared his older brother but he had to be sure he had gotten his point across before they reached the door. The Ancient gene generally ran in families but it was still incredibly rare and the chances that Dave had it were fairly low. He was relieved when his brother swallowed and nodded.

Jack and O'Neil were the first ones to reach the doors and they were quickly scanned before being shoved roughly to the right. Sheppard quickly moved to the right knowing that that was the way he was going to be sent and not wanting to be shoved around and risk losing his already precarious balance.

As expected he was shoved to the right and Ronon, Cam and Dave were sent left. O'Neil reached out to steady John as he stumbled and a lady behind them cried out as her baby, not much more than a year old, was ripped out of her arms and unceremoniously dumped into a very surprised Jack's arms.

Before much of a fuss could be made they were herded around a corner and out of sight although the woman's cries could still be heard. It was quite obvious that these people knew what they were doing and this wasn't the first or even second time they had done it.

As they moved further down the corridor the baby began to sniff and Jack quickly set about calming it before it could begin to cry, as John watched him bounce the boy and pat him gently on the back he asked; "What exactly did you mean by mark II?"

"Exactly that," O'Neil explained "He's my clone. He has all my memories up to the date of the cloning, he's me just younger, it's a LONG story."

"Of course" John said, he should have realised that Jack was being literal, nothing surprised him anymore.

The sound of running water greeted them as they went through another set of doors. Another bruiser stood just inside the door; "Strip off and get washed. If you don't we will do it for you. Don't worry about your clothes, more will be provided." The man sounded bored but his eyes were still watchful.

John was worried about his brother but he knew that Ronon would make sure nothing happened to him. He knew better than to try and resist such a simple request when it was more than likely he was going to need all his strength at a later date. He began stripping, very aware of all the scared eyes watching each other; he undid his trousers and pulled them down stalling in taking off his top as long as possible. Suddenly thinking he turned to O'Neil and said "Could you possibly stand in a way that will block my back from view as much as possible?" Jack was still juggling the squirming tot, trying to get himself undressed as well as the child and John was fairly sure that O'Neil would have been apprised of his condition.

"I'll see what I can do, no guarantees though." O'Neil smiled as he spoke; he knew that there could be disastrous consequences for John if their captors found out, too early, about his abilities. His coping mechanism was to crack a joke; he suspected that the same method worked well for John.

John nodded his thanks as he removed his sling and then turned, putting his back towards his companions, and tenderly pulled his jumper over his head once again revealing the implants and pink scar tissue. With his back to the pair he missed the look that passed between the two as they both had the same thought; neither of them had realised quite how extensive the damage, only briefly mentioned, had actually been.

They all moved swiftly into the next room where showers were spraying hot, strangely scented, water onto the captives. "Don't ya just love the smell of antiseptic in the morning?" Jack quipped, shifting the child onto his other hip.

John smiled appreciating the humour; "You two really do sound alike."

They both grinned cheekily at his words and John just shook his head and moved under the water letting it wash over him before stepping out again. Jack and O'Neil both did the same and surprisingly the toddler didn't make a sound, almost as if he sensed their desire not to be noticed. They were all acutely aware of the fact that this particular task was a matter of timing, too fast or slow and they would be noticed.

Making it to the next door without drawing more than a sideways glance or two the three silently made the decision to join another group of people who had just emerged from the shower room. "You're about my size right?" O'Neil asked sizing him up.

"Yeah I should think so." John agreed.

"Ok stay here with Jack, I'll go get us something to wear." O'Neil nipped off and returned just minutes later carrying a stack of what looked suspiciously like hospital scrubs. "These people, whoever they are, have definitely done this before. They know exactly what to do to keep people under control and keep things moving smoothly." He handed Jack and John light blue scrubs before donning his own.

"I have spent far too much of my life in scrubs" John sighed pulling his top on first and immediately feeling more secure.

"Amen to that." His two companions said in unison.

Having donned the clothes the three of them proceeded to dress the tot who had started to doze in Jack's arms. Jack and O'Neil deftly slipped the clothes on, barely stirring the child. It was done with a practiced ease that told john that they had done this more than once in the past, John knew better than to ask though.

The group they had joined began to move towards yet another set of grey doors and John began to wonder if this was what it would have been like to navigate a rabbit warren. It was a fairly familiar feeling walking down a grey metal corridor, he could have been in an earth built ship the decor was so similarly sparse. However, walking through yet another set of doors the similarity abruptly ended; the people in front of him stopped and it wasn't until the guards urged them forwards that the three got a good look at the corridor. It was brightly lit and all the way down, as far as they could see, there were cells faced with bars on one side and on the opposite side the cells were faced with some sort of plexiglass. The cells closest to them were already full and it wasn't until they were halfway down the corridor that the guards began to usher people into cells. The group thinned out pretty quickly as four or five people at a time were directed to enter the cells with the plexiglass fronts.

"Lucas" a voice called from across the corridor as they were directed to enter a cell. Turning to look at where the voice was coming from Sheppard saw the boy's mother in a cell and behind her Mitchell, Ronon and Dave. John was relieved to see they were ok but knew better than to give any indication that he knew them, he could see Mitchell saying something to Dave and assumed he was probably indicating something similar to his brother. He stepped backwards into the cell and looked down as his foot sunk.

The cell had white padding on the floor and looking around the rest of the small room he saw that the walls were similarly padded, it instantly made him think of the padded cells he had seen in the movies at home. "Well at least we have somewhere comfy to sleep rather than the normal cold stone floors." John looked back up from the floor just in time to watch a clear, thick, plastic like screen descend from the ceiling and enclose them within the cell.

Jack gently laid Lucas on the floor, careful not to wake him. "That's true... You notice that all the people on the other side of the corridor are still in the clothes they arrived in? I'm willing to bet that they are the ones without the gene."

"I think it's safe to agree with you." O'Neil stated.

John laughed, "you do realise you've essentially just agreed with yourself right?"

"That may be the case," O'Neil admitted good naturedly "but I happen to think I'm right on this occasion"

John just laughed again and shook his head, admitting defeat.

"So... what now?" Jack asked

"For now we sit tight. You and John are going to rest; I'll keep watch for now." Seeing that the pair were about to argue he quickly added; "John you're injured and besides I could make that an order and then what would you do?" it was a rhetorical question so he turned to Jack, "You have better knees than I do and if we are going into technicalities I outrank you as well..." They both smiled as he added this last part.

"I accept your argument" Jack conceded, putting on a slightly posh voice, he also turned to John, "you should too you know, he's not going to back down, I'll tell you that for free."

John's answer was to gingerly lower himself to the floor and roll over onto his relatively good side.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry its been so long life has caught up with me... more to come soon_


	10. Comfort

_A/N: you may want to thank Haruka83 for this chapter, it was their review that prompted me to post this chapter... enjoy and please review! _

* * *

**Chapter 10: Comfort**

Across the corridor David was watching his younger brother closely, he knew that what John did was dangerous but he still couldn't understand why he felt so good and why his brother and his companions would talk about spaceships as though they were real, let alone as if they were common place. Turning back to the occupants of his cell, he couldn't believe he'd even thought that, he pushed down his fear and stated; "I'm not even going to ask what's going on because your last attempt at an explanation was quite simply bewildering but what is going on with my brother; why is he moving so stiffly?"

He saw Mitchell and Ronon exchange a look before Mitchell sighed, "A few months ago Shep and his team were captured while they were on a mission, we rescued them but there was a fair amount of fighting on the way out and they weren't in the best of shape anyway. John helped quite a few people but because of that it's taken him a while to get back on his feet."

David didn't really know what to say to that but then something Mitchell said registered. "A couple of months! What happened to him?"

Ronon discreetly caught Mitchell's attention and indicated the lady still standing near the bars, Mitchell got the message. "Look, it's a really long story, now probably isn't the best time."

David contemplated arguing the point that it didn't look like they were going anywhere soon but then he heard the lady they had been put with sob softly.

Mitchell sighed, he had seen enough similar situations in the past that he was getting used to the feeling of helplessness that accompanied it but he still remembered the first time he had been captured. At the time he had the support of his team and the knowledge that his family were safe from harm and unaware of his situation on earth. This woman was on her own and separated from her infant son and, on top of that, she had no idea where she was or what was going on. "Your son couldn't be in any better hands given the situation." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder "I know nothing really makes sense but trust me; those men will protect your son, no matter what."

She seemed to take a moment to compose herself before she turned to face Mitchell. "How can you be so sure? Who are you people?"

David noted she had an accent and it took him a moment to place it as British. As she looked around the room he also noticed her bright green eyes which glinted intelligently and contrasted starkly with her pale skin and black hair.

Mitchell stepped towards her and lowered his voice; he was more than a little suspicious of listening devices. "I'm a member of the United States armed services as are the men in the other... room opposite we've had some, ah, experience in this sort of thing."

"Forgive me if that doesn't comfort me." The lady said frowning slightly; "You Americans have a bit of a reputation for being gung-ho."

Mitchell knew that American forces were not always popular with citizens from other nations, even those of their allies, but he wanted to try and win the lady over. Keeping her calm and gaining her trust could be important if and when they came up with a plan. "I can't force you to trust me but I give you my word; we would never do anything that could potentially hurt bystanders, sometimes to the detriment of ourselves just look at Sheppard over there." He indicated Sheppard in the other cell just as he was in the process of lying down and it was evident to everyone watching that he was hurting.

Mitchell knew that he was stretching the truth slightly when it came to Sheppard but it was a good way to illustrate what he was saying and he knew that was the truth. The lady seemed to give a little when she noted the stiff movements of the man opposite and Mitchell forged ahead; "I know you are probably confused right now but our people are probably already looking for us so it's only a matter of time..." This last part he wasn't so sure about but in the past team members had gone missing and been taken far away and they had still managed to find them again, the odds in this particular instance were no different. What he really wanted to do was gather more intel so he knew for sure what they were dealing with, suspicions alone were not good enough.


	11. Organisation

**Chapter 11: Organisation**

"I want you to look through all the footage of the new prisoners and find the ones that are sick and injured." The big man named Pietor told the subordinate standing next to him, even as they watched the live footage of the captives in their cells. "Treat the ones that can be mended, leave the ones that will recover of their own accord and dispose of any that we will be unable to return to health."

"Yes Pietor, of course." The subordinate said. He already knew the drill well but it paid to follow the same tried and tested routine with his unpredictable boss; "Is there anything else you wish me to do?"

"Yes, assign someone to check all the cells and assure that any with infants in them have suitable sleeping arrangement for the children, I can't stand the crying."

It was a fine balance between asking too much and asking too little and the subordinate decided that today asking if there was a specific medical technician that Pietor required to carry out the inspection would be taking it too far. Excusing himself rapidly the subordinate went to do as he was told more than aware of the precarious position his recent promotion had placed him in, Pietor previous right-hand men were still unaccounted for.

The subordinate decided that speed was of the essence and within minutes he had sent someone out to arrange child's cots and was sitting with the on-duty technician studying each new arrival as they had moved around the transport hall.

"Could you not have waited five more minutes Harvey?" the technician asked as he tiredly watched how people moved and held themselves. "Five more minutes and Frank would have been the on duty technician."

"Do not complain Geoff" Harvey groaned as he continued to watch the people. "I was not about to keep Pietor waiting any longer than absolutely necessary and anyway this new intake appears to be in fairly good health... I have only spotted twenty three so far that should be looked at more closely and even some of them we are perhaps being overly cautious with."

Geoff could not argue with Harvey's point and within twenty minutes they had singled out a further three people to inspect, bringing their total to twenty six. After they had singled out the sick and injured it had been a simple matter of taking a look at the live footage of the cells to determining which ones had gone where.

Harvey stood up; "I'll take some of my men to go and round these people up, you should go and alert your team, hopefully this will only be brief. I will meet you in examination room three."

Geoff nodded his understanding and the both hurriedly parted ways. The sooner they got this over with the sooner they could go to their respective beds ready for whatever Pietor had planned for the next day.

Looking at the list of cells and the pictures of the people he had to collect Harvey began to walk down the corridor. He could hear sobbing and crying from all around him, he could also soft voices coming from cells, trying to calm the fearful prisoners. It was the same every time they picked up new stock; there was always a frustrating period of adjustment before they achieved anything productive. He stopped at the first cell on his list and, once more checking his list before hitting the door panel, he indicated the teenage girl in the cell that he wanted to the guards he had bought with him. All the people in the cell had backed up against the far wall but the guards efficiently extracted her without any resistance.

The girl looked relatively healthy but had a cast encircling her left hand and forearm, Harvey was hopeful that she would be a simple case of ascertaining when she was due to have the cast removed. Walking down the corridor the group of people steadily grew, there were several old people, several adults, a couple of children and a heavily pregnant woman and all bar one were walking under their own steam, the one exception was being carried by one of the many guards, he claimed his legs didn't work and while Harvey believed this to be the case he had still decided to check the causes behind it to ensure it wasn't some sort of contagion he had never heard of. They were all fairly healthy unlike some of their previous intakes had been and for this Harvey was grateful as it made his job much easier.

One of the last cells that he had to extract a person from had a group of varying aged people in it from a young child to a man with steel grey hair. Looking into the cell Harvey paused as he went to hit the door control; the oldest person in the cell looked far from frail, he looked wiry and dangerous and the look Harvey was receiving from the teen was nothing short of hostile. Normally this would not have made Harvey hesitate but, there was something very similar about the two and he quickly decided they must have been father and son; the way they were positioned made him think that they were being very protective of the two prone figures on the floor. Indicating the sickly looking man asleep on the floor to the guards Harvey hit the door control. The tow conscious men moved forwards as one as if to resist before a look almost simultaneously crossed their faces and they paused as if undecided. As the guards pulled a confused looking man to his feet Harvey felt the need to pacify the pair; "Your companion will be returned shortly and bedding will be provided for the young one." The older man looked past Harvey to the group of prisoners and guards and sighed saying; "Stand down Jack, there's not much we can do at the moment."

The ill man was issued out into the corridor and Harvey once more hit the door control letting out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding as a tangible barrier descended between himself and the two men. He had no doubt that they were both more than capable of snapping his neck if the opportunity arose. He rapidly directed his group down the corridor away from the cell and towards the exam room picking up a final person on the way.


	12. Discovery

**Chapter 12: Discovery**

Sheppard blinked rapidly trying to clear the last vestiges of sleep from his addled brain. He wasn't sure what was going on but one thing he was sure of was that his shoulder really hurt from being dragged to his feet and he was getting one hell of a headache, probably a kickback from helping his brother. He was with a strange group of people and he was in the process of trying to figure out what they all had in common when the door in front of them slid open and he knew that should he sleep anytime soon he was going to be relieving some very bad times in his life.

When the doors in front of them opened the group all stopped walking as one. Sheppard was getting a disconcertingly strong sense of déjà vu; in front of him was an examination room bed much like the ones you would find in a doctors surgery with one glaring difference; this one had restraints attached to it. Positioned above the bed was a strong set of adjustable lights that were almost blinding in their intensity. He could feel the hesitation in the people directly in front of him as their natural aversion to strange medical settings kicked in.

Before anybody could ask what they were doing here the subordinate from earlier announced "This is just a routine health check, you will be returned to your quarters soon"

Sheppard figured that the fact that they were going to the trouble of ensuring they were healthy boded well for their future intentions. He started moving forwards wanting to encourage the others not to resist while at the same time quipping; "You know I had a health check last week, this seems slightly excessive, twice in a week!" he winked at a nervous looking teenage girl before he stepped across the threshold of the doorway and into the room.

He was trying desperately not to let on to the other prisoners that he himself was scared; it was now inevitable that their captors were going to find the implants down his spine. He had realised that all of the people in his group were injured or ill in some way and he knew that in all likelihood he had been singled out because no matter how hard he tried to conceal it, he was moving stiffly and he had been less than steady on his feet when they had arrived.

Sheppard stepped into the room trying to exude an air of confidence; it was a delicate balance, he wanted to appear confident for his fellow captives but at the same time he didn't want to appear too cocky in front of his captors. Ultimately though, he didn't want to let anyone know quite how terrified he was of how his captors would react to the discovery of his implants.

He paused several steps into the room unsure of what exactly he was supposed to next, he could feel the tentative advance of the group behind him and took a few more steps into the room. From behind him he heard a voice say; "start with the simple ones- any settings then illnesses then we will move onto the other physical problems."

He couldn't decide which category they would class him as but he was almost positive it wouldn't be the first one which was settings. His suspicions were proven right as the girl with her arm in a cast was pulled to the front. She was shaking with fear but didn't make a sound as her arm was placed on the table and a machine was placed above it. There was a loud click followed by a familiar light before everything returned to as it had been before. A man that looked a bit like a lab technician moved to stand in front of a screen and said; "two more weeks and it will be sorted."

The man in charge nodded and the girl was moved to the opposite side of the room. She still looked scared standing on her own in the corner but there was also a barely detectable sense of relief. She wasn't alone in the corner for long before she was joined by two more kids in casts, one couldn't have been more than six but he still didn't make a sound as though he knew all too well the consequences of speaking, or crying, in a group of strange adults. They were the last of the people with casts and then came the people with illnesses; this seemed to comprise a large portion of the group.

The first person of the group who was brought forward looked to have a simple cold and indeed instead of scanning this person the technician held a device up to the person's neck and there was a brief click and the man winced. As the technician withdrew the machine Sheppard tried to get a better look without being too obvious. The machine had a distinctly ancient look to it but at the same time it looked different he just couldn't place how exactly. He watched as a woman closely followed. The technician pronounced them both fairly healthy but also suggested a period of isolation, they were followed by a young girl and boy the girl seemed to take the exam in stride but at the loud click the boy who was four at the most began to cry. At this point Sheppard realised that the machine was taking a sample of blood to be analysed. The boy was ushered over to stand with the other ill people and upon second glance, as the lady bent down to comfort the boy; it became obvious given the similarities in facial features that this was a family unit.

The father had pulled his daughter towards him protectively while the mother picked up her son in order to settle him. Even as he had watched this small family display yet another person had been pulled from their ever thinning group. This one was pronounced ill but with nothing that was contagious or debilitating and was sent to stand with the group of kids with casts that now also contained the pregnant woman and the older people. Looking behind himself Sheppard realised that he was standing in a group of just three people plus the guard supporting the disabled man, looking at the other two still standing Sheppard noticed a distinct, if slightly faded, military air about them. One of them was quite obviously missing an arm and the other had a piece of metal attached to a shoe protruding from the bottom of his trouser leg. It didn't take much to guess what had happened to them.

Before that thought could take him any further however he felt someone grab his arm and guide him forwards and his attention snapped back to what was going on around him. "Whats wrong with this one?" one of the techs asked, obviously enquiring as to why he had been brought in to be examined.

He heard a tapping noise off to his right much like the noise Rodney made when working on his computer. Locating the source of the noise Sheppard recognised the one that had seemed to be in charge of this group pulling something up on a screen to show to the tech. "Unsteady on his feet at times and appears to be supporting his right arm."

Sheppard managed to refrain from making any witty remarks as the tech nodded and said "Ok we'll have a look and see if we can see what's going on."

His sense of trepidation mounted as two techs approached him and he flashed back to the last time he had been in a situation like this. He unconsciously took a step backwards even though he was perfectly aware there was nowhere to go.

"Easy there pal, we're not going to hurt you" one of the men placated, much as he would have placated one of his horses when he was younger. Realising what he had just done he smiled wryly and stood where he was waiting for them to approach him. They did but visibly slowed which amused him greatly as more comparisons of a flighty horse came to mind. When they did reach him they took an arm each and guided him to the centre of the room. "Start with his arm" directed the technician who appeared to be in charge. "That could be the source of all his problems."

_Not likely_ Sheppard thought to himself but then all thought stopped and he froze as one of the techs holding him began to pull his shirt up. He'd known all along that this was going to happen but he had hoped that he would have had a little more time before it did.

As his shirt began to lift from his back he tensed even more as the techs hand brushed against the bare skin of his back and one of the implants "What the... What is that?" gasped the tech looking down. Pulling the shirt up more rapidly, he exposed still more of Sheppard's back, "Sir have a look at this!"

The senior technician approached rapidly and, upon seeing the devices in Sheppard's back Sheppard saw him discreetly signal one of the two holding him. Looking back at the tech that had just been signalled Sheppard was just in time to see something being raised to his neck. He briefly felt something sharp on his neck before a warm feeling spread from the site and all the aches and pains of the past few months faded even as he felt his legs fold beneath him. He caught sight of the two military men that had been standing behind him even as he sagged, they were both barely concealing anger as they watched him being manhandled onto the table. He could see they were worried about what was going on right in front of them but at the same time he suspected that they were probably more than a bit relieved that it wasn't them that was on the table. "Check the others." He heard a voice say even as he began to drift, there was no point in fighting the inevitable and so Sheppard allowed the darkness to take him.


	13. Exam

**Chapter 13: Exam **

Harvey looked up from what he had been doing at the technician's explanation, he didn't want any surprises, why did this always happen to him?

Upon seeing his chief technician sedating the man Harvey stood up to get a closer look. The man was now on the table and the technicians were in the process of removing his shirt. Looking at the man's back Harvey instantly saw why the technician had exclaimed. "Check the others" he ordered immediately, wanting to get on top of the situation as soon as possible. He didn't want Pietor to find out that one of their new acquisitions had been brought on board with undetected alien technology.

The techs and guards all quickly checked the backs of the other prisoners in the room and when Harvey had received the negative from each of his subordinates he frowned and stepped closer to the unconscious man, having a better look,the mans lower back was largely pink with new scar tissue and the round black objects shone dully from his skin some black others red. Turning to the nearest prisoner he demanded "What are these and what do they do?"

The family man looked uncomprehendingly at Harvey.

"Sir," one of the guards started "It would seem not all the people on this planet speak the same language."

Harvey sighed heavily; it was very rare to come across a planet that had such a large and widely dispersed population and as such almost just as rare to have multiple languages. Turning to another prisoner he said; "What about you? Do you understand me?"

The prisoner was one of the two that they had yet to vet and Harvey could see a familiar look of defiance in his eyes but the man nodded. "Well? Do you know about this?"

"I have no idea" the man admitted, "I've never seen anything like it and I don't think anyone you ask will know." The man had a strong accent and Harvey had to concentrate as he as he was talking but as he did its meaning sunk in. "Does your planet have space travel?" he asked , a sense of urgency seeping in.

"We've sent men to the moon and probes to the planets in our solar system." The man claimed proudly.

Harvey released a breath he had not realised he had been holding, so they did have space travel but it was primitive at best. Even so, he thought, it may be necessary to tell Pietor at least some of his discoveries and suggest they put as much distance between themselves and this solar system. Thinking of something else he turned to one of the technicians at the video monitor. "See if he arrived with anyone and if he did get that person and bring them here." He ordered.

The technician nodded and immediately dropped his eyes to his screen. "The man arrived with three companions, would you like me to retrieve all of them?"

"No one should be sufficient." Harvey snapped "Take two guards and be discreet, don't tell anyone what you are doing; if anyone asks you are under my orders." Harvey didn't want any of this getting back to Pietor before he had it under control. The technician nodded and headed for the door, two guards in tow.


	14. Half Truths

**Chapter 14: Half Truths**

Mitchell had been sitting next to the bars of their cell trying to get the best view of the corridor when the three men had arrived. Standing up he looked back into the cell to see Ronon and Dave standing near the rear where Dave had taken Ronon to question him more in-depth about what exactly his brother did. Ronon hadn't exactly been very talkative and David was looking more than a little frustrated. The woman, Lily, was sitting near of the centre of the cell watching her son sleep in the opposite cell.

Looking back at the three men he saw one of them consult a handheld tablet. "This is one of them." The man said pointing at Mitchell.

Mitchell sighed; something was up and he suspected it had to do with wherever they had taken Sheppard. The guards waved their weapons indicating that he should step out as they opened the cell. He could see both O'Neil's watching from the opposite cell and he could feel Ronon's eyes boring into his back. They all knew from experience that it was pointless to do anything at this stage without knowing the full extent of the situation. Stepping out of the cell his hands slightly raised Mitchell smiled and said; "There's no reason this can't be amicable guys."

They said nothing but at the same time there was no poking with weapons, or shoving, and Mitchell chalked this up as a win. The guards merely indicated that he should walk in front of them, yet to speak a word.

They walked quickly down the corridor until they reached a door that was summarily opened and they stepped into the room. Mitchell paused just inside the door assimilating the sight in front of him. Sheppard was unconscious and lying face down on a table his torso exposed. "Is he ok?" Mitchell asked trying to figure out what they wanted him for.

"He will be fine," a man stated from across the room "What is wrong with him and what are those things in his back? None of the other people from your planet seem to know."

Mitchell looked at the other people in the various parts of the room before deciding on a suitable story that was part truth but would still protect Sheppard. "This man was injured quite severely in an explosion, that's why he's moving stiffly, and while recovering he volunteered for an experimental bio monitoring project that allowed doctors to monitor his recovery and physical therapy and the stresses they were putting his body under." Pre-empting their main fear he continued; "They don't transmit any data or signal but there were a few complications..." he realised that he should probably ensure they didn't hedge their bets and take the implants out.

The man who had asked him the question primarily looked at him sharply. "What sort of complications?"

"The monitors fused to his spine... it isn't possible to remove them."

The man's eyes narrowed; "Show me how these devices work." He demanded.

Mitchell shrugged, stepping closer to Sheppard, his guards following close behind. "I'm not a scientist, I'm just a friend so I only know the basics." Stepping closer he indicated the bottom implant "This one here shows his heart rate while the others show the levels of physical stress he is under or the amount of pain he is in, that's all I know" while he was talking he discreetly looked at each of the non-earth people in the room, they looked typically human and there was nothing particularly unique about them, they were just like so many other human races seeded throughout the various galaxies. Mitchell also noted that they were all wearing gloves and he inwardly sighed in relief, it was one less thing for Sheppard to worry about, coming into physical contact with them.

Mitchell turned his attention back to the man that appeared to be in charge when he started talking again. "What's wrong with his arm?"

It's nothing serious it's just some damaged connective tissue that had to be repaired" Mitchell told them truthfully, there was no need to lie about that.

"Ok if that's all you know you can go back to your cell." The man stated before turning back to the technician beside him and saying "Verify this and then return all of them to their cells, we will proceed with everything else shortly." The tech nodded and Mitchell found himself being led back to the corridor with all the cells.

When they reached his cell he found Ronon and Dave had now moved to the front of the cell and Mitchell thought he could see a small amount of relief in Sheppard's brother's face that he had been returned in one piece, Ronon as ever remained passive in his facial features.

"What the hell was that all about?" Dave demanded once the guards had moved away again.

"They found Shep's implants" Mitchell told them, directing this information primarily at Ronon who would understand the implications.

"What implants?" Dave asked puzzled, Mitchell had forgotten that Dave didn't know.

"It doesn't matter, he's fine and I fed them a story that was partly true, just enough to make them happy but not enough to make them aware of the extent of our space travel, if anyone asks you two the implants are experimental bio monitoring devices. Do you understand?" this last bit was directed at Dave who nodded despite the fact that he still looked confused.

"What do we do now?" David asked as they moved further back into the cell.

"We watch and wait" Mitchell told him already formulating various plans in his head depending on the various scenarios he could envisage.


	15. Verification

**Chapter 15: Verification**

Harvey paced around the lab as he waited for his technicians to verify that the devices in the man's back were indeed harmless. "This seems like a very inefficient way of keeping an eye on vital signs." He said to no one in particular, "this civilisation must be very underdeveloped in their medical fields"

"We have yet to create a technology that will measure the pain or stress a person's body is feeling" his chief technician pointed out from nearby, "This may be a good opportunity to figure out how much the power chamber affects the subjects" he added, "we will have to have a baseline to work from though."

"Fine finish what you are doing and wake him up, get your baseline and then put him in the power chamber, we are due to replace the current subject soon anyway."

The technician nodded and five minutes later he confirmed that the devices were indeed benign and were not transmitting a signal.

Harvey heaved a sigh of relief and said; "Very well I'm going to go and report to Pietor and you do what you have to, within reason, to get your baseline. I should be back in time to supervise the change over in the power chamber." At the mention of Pietor several of the men in the lab shivered, Pietor hadn't gotten to where he was by being benevolent.

As Harvey left the room the chief technician looked over at the closing door and said "I'm glad I chose science and not security as a career." The man standing next to him nodded in wholehearted agreement.

They had finished what they had to do while the man was asleep so the chief technician walked over to the table and, taking something small out of his pocket he snapped it in half right under the man's nose. The man woke with a start and began to sit up but the chief quickly put downward pressure on his shoulders and the man quickly got the message to stay put. The chief could see the man analysing everything around him and, from the miniscule tightening of various muscles beneath his hands, the chief was fairly sure that the man was also analysing whether anything untoward had been done to him. It didn't look like this was the first time he had been in this situation.

The chief released his grip on the man's shoulder as more of his technicians came over, ready to restrain the man should the need arise. But the man stayed where he was.

"We have been told by your colleague that the devices in your back are experimental bio monitoring devices, is this true?" the man took a minute to answer but eventually nodded his head. "Ok get him sat up." He said to the room as a whole.

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_A/N: ok so i know i havent uploaded in a while but between being in final year of university, army training and charity work i havent had mucch time for writing... thank you to every one who has favorited, alerted and reviewed this story its what spurred me to keep writing, this is a short chapter but theres a much longer one in the pipeline that should be up in the next couple of days, hopefully with crimbo holidays and only revision to do i should be able to get a bit further on the story. kepp letting me know what you think!_


	16. Power

**Chapter 16: Power**

Sheppard didn't really know what was going on but he knew that Mitchell or Ronon had obviously had their reasons for telling these people what the devices were and as he began to think more quickly he went back over the technicians exact words... it looked like a half truth had been told.

More people grabbed his shoulders and before he had really registered what was going on he was in a sitting position with his legs hanging over the side of the table, he was feeling a little queasy and he put this down to his sudden change in position and the after effects of whatever they had used to knock him out, he often had a bad reaction to anaesthetics.

Before he could really have time to get over the effects of the anaesthetic a light was shone directly into his eyes and his headache flared up fiercer than ever. "I think that hurt him." He heard a voice behind him say, "Do it again."

Sheppard did not appreciate the light in his eyes again and grunted to indicate it; he was in no mood for full words yet. "Do you have a headache?" another voice asked.

Sheppard looked up at the man asking and saw that it was the one wielding the light. Hoping to deter the man from shining the light in his eyes again he nodded quickly, almost instantly regretting it as his headache made itself known once more.

"The second device from the bottom flashed" the voice behind him piped up once more. Sheppard was really starting to dislike this voice and this feeling was intensified only seconds later when a searing pain flashed across a small section of his back.

"What was that?" he half gasped, half demanded turning to look. The small man had round glasses and a squat frame but that was not drew Sheppard's attention. The man had a small scalpel in his hand and Sheppard knew instantly that he had cut him with it as he could feel the blood running down his back. "Why did you do that?" he asked trying to regain some exposure.

"We need to establish a baseline for how these devices work. How they relate to pain and physical stress." The light wielder told him, Sheppard suspected that he may have been in charge. "We are now going to place you on a running machine please be cooperative and this will only be brief." Sheppard decided to acquiesce for the time being. "You look to be in fairly good shape" the man standing before him said, obviously seeing Sheppard's submittance "How often would you say you run during seven days?"

Sheppard thought for a minute before answering "Before my accident I would run for at least an hour most days if I could find the time, not so much in the last couple of months though."

The man seemed satisfied with this answer as he turned and walked through another door. Sheppard found himself being led in the same direction and couldn't work up the will power to resist so decided for the time being he would do as he was instructed.

Through the door they entered what looked like a gym from earth. Before Sheppard really had time to register anything through the drug induced haze that still persisted in his brain he was on the treadmill and running, the small man that had wielded the knife once more behind him calling out the changes in the devices on his back for a third man to note down.

After ten minutes Sheppard was dismayed to find that he was sweating and slightly out of breath and cursed the circumstances that had led to his decline in fitness. "That will do I think" said the man in charge. "I think we have enough data to be going on with." Relieved Sheppard stepped off the treadmill, looking forward to lying down for a while but the man continued to speak "It's almost time for the change over in the power chamber we should head down there now."

"What's a power chamber?" Sheppard asked a ball of dread forming in his stomach and sitting like lead, he didn't like the way things were going.

"Not to worry," the guy in charge said dismissively, "it will mean very little to you. This did nothing to assuage Sheppard's worries but he wasn't sure he was in any state to be trying to resist whatever they had planned he just hoped it wouldn't do anymore damage to his already suffering body. Better yet, he hoped both Ronon and the others would come up with a plan to get everyone out of here before he had to find out or that earth would find them and mount a rescue mission. It was however; dubious this was going to happen in what appeared to be a short time period before he found out what the power chamber was.

The head technician headed towards yet another door and Sheppard had time to look around wondering exactly how many doors each room had before the ever present guards took up a position on either side of him and indicated he should follow. He walked down what seemed like a comparatively short corridor when the other corridors he had encountered in this place were taken into account. About halfway down his small group stopped at a small door that had a deep hum emanating from behind it.

As the technician typed in a code that accessed the door an announcement could be heard echoing around the ship as a voice declared; "attention all personnel, power change will commence in five minutes, please secure any projects you may be working on and be prepared for blackout."

"That sounds labour intensive." Sheppard quipped; he was very nervous now and was desperate not to show it.

The doors slid open and the group entered into a dimly lit room with a cold blue glow offering the only form of light. The blue glow was coming from a large tank in the middle of the room. It took a minute for Sheppard to realise that the dark shape he could see floating in the middle of the tank was in fact a human, a fairly young one if size was anything to go by. The child couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve from guessing. Sheppard recoiled in horror but was abruptly stopped as his back came into contact with the two guards who had discreetly repositioned themselves while he had been paying attention to the figure in the tank.

"The first time in the power chamber can be slightly abrasive." The technician commented casually _as though he was commenting on a nature documentary_ Sheppard's brain supplied abstractly.The technician was uncoupling cables that were attached to the tank and as he did Sheppard felt the ship fall out of hyperspace travel.

"We try not to use the children where possible, they never supply as much power as adults and we have to change sources far more frequently, unfortunately it has been a while since our last restock and it takes longer for the subjects to recover after each stint in the power chamber." Sheppard couldn't believe how detached the man sounded as though he was literally talking about a battery. "My suggestion to you would be not to fight the process it's much less traumatic if you do that."

The last cable was detached and the ship fell strangely silent as the last source of power was uncoupled and all the systems shut down. Two technicians that Sheppard hadn't noticed up to that point stepped forward and unclasped the top of the tank lifting the child out. Sheppard could see from where he was standing that it was a little girl. The technicians laid her on her side on the floor and then hit her solidly between the shoulders. The girl began to cough violently expunging blue liquid from her lungs. When she finally stopped coughing she began to cry but this quickly abated as she succumbed to what Sheppard could only assume was exhaustion.

"That's..." Sheppard started trying to come up with the right words, "barbaric." This was far worse than anything he had seen before, even more so than the emperors collection on the planet where he had been injured.

"It's necessary to ensure the continued existence of the population on this ship." The technician supplied indifferently as the guards began to usher a very reluctant Sheppard towards the tank. He dug his bare feet into the ground but the guards didn't hesitate in picking him up bodily by his shoulders causing pain to tear through his consciousness.

When his brain finally began to pierce through the fog of pain once more he felt the peculiar sensation of pins and needles in his toes. Looking down he saw that the guards were lowering him into the tank. At this point and almost uncontrollable animal fear took over and he thrashed trying to get away from his captors. He had no hope of overpowering the two burly men in his current state however and within a minute they had him in the tank nearly fully submerged.

He'd almost completely run out of energy and could only drift in the liquid as he tried to identify the strange and yet familiar sensation that was overtaking his entire body. As he realised that it felt like he had just sat down in the control chair in Atlantis he started to search for the mental connection that usually accompanied this sensation. He didn't have long to explore this new idea however as panic set in again as one of the guards pushed down on his chest fully submerging him while the other slid the lid of the tank back into place.

The pressure on his chest disappeared and he surged towards the top of the tank searching for air but there was no airspace at all. Pushing with his all his might Sheppard couldn't even budge the lid of the tank and as the first minute ticked into the second his struggles lessened even as his lungs began to burn. After what seemed like forever, but could have only been two or three minutes, Sheppard felt his will power giving in and his gasp reflex took over, uncontrollably he gasped inhaling a lungful of liquid.

It was one of the most painful experiences of his life as his lungs burned with the liquid entering his lungs. Coughing, trying to clear his lungs of the liquid only caused him to inhale more liquid. As he began to blackout he relaxed and looked to his side to see the technician hooking the cables back up to the tank and felt the ship coming to life as power surged through it and one of the last thoughts that ran through his heads was that he couldn't believe this was how he was going to die.


	17. Connections

_A/N hey guys sorry for the long wait but between dodgy internet connection, exams and an ongoing battle with my muse i havent had a lot of a chance to get any writing done. this chapter is for sheppardlover and joeyluv as they both sent me really good reviews that have given me a few ideas for the next few chapters. this ones only a short one as i still have a ton of research to do for a researchh proposal i need to submit this week; final year at uni sucks! bear with me and enjoy!_

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**Chapter 17: Connections **

General Landry looked at the computer screen on the desk in front of him; the last twelve hours had been absolutely chaotic. With the detection of a foreign space vessel that had appeared briefly in earth's atmosphere and the apparent abduction of hundreds of people the ball had fallen squarely in his court. The list of missing people on his screen was getting increasingly longer as more and more reports were coming in and now it was not just a list of US citizens but other people from around the globe. Some important people from inside the government and military including General O'Neil and his doppelganger had just disappeared instantaneously. Police reports were flooding in of people just vanishing from crowded rooms in a bright flash of light and among the new names that appeared on the list Landry was only slightly surprised to see that Sheppard, Mitchell, Ronon, and strangely Sheppard's brother, had managed to get caught up in whatever was going on.

Bringing up the police report on the group's disappearance Landry read the statement that had been provided by a slightly hysterical doctor. The man was in shock not just from the disappearance which had occurred right in front of him but also because his patient had apparently made a miraculous recovery from stage 4 terminal cancer. Furthermore, he had kept insisting that it was urgent the group be found as one of his patients visitors had appeared to be quite ill. Frowning Landry pulled up a personnel file this time; looking through Sheppard's medical history gave him cause for concern and he hurriedly picked up his phone dialling the internal number for his daughter's office.

"Caroline," he said trying not to project his worry in his voice, "did you have a chance to look over Colonel Sheppard's medical file while he was here?"

"Yes" she replied the question obvious in her voice

"If he had healed his brother what sort of affect would that have had on him?" Landry asked fairly sure he already knew the answer.

"It would have caused his body a huge amount of stress. Doctor Keller, in Atlantis, mentioned in his records that the last time he healed anyone it had set him back months in his own recovery. Why has something happened? If he's done anything like that then we really need to bring him back here for observation."

"I'm afraid we can't, colonel's Sheppard and Mitchell have joined the list of unaccounted for. The reason I asked is there is a report here from a doctor that didn't make much sense without factoring in Sheppard's new... abilities. I suppose we shouldn't really be surprised he did heal his brother I don't know what anyone was expecting really, if you could heal someone close to you wouldn't you take the opportunity?"

"Yes" Caroline replied her worry evident.

"Right well, I just wanted to clear that puzzle up. I need to go and make a long distance call. I can't imagine Colonel Carter is going to be too pleased with us, I think she thought sending Sheppard home would give him a chance to recover away from Atlantis." As he mentioned Atlantis another thought crossed his mind. Checking back though the list of missing people he saw names that he recognised. "Caroline could you do me a favour and go through the records and tell me how many people who have been confirmed to have the ancient gene have gone missing; I've just realised that all of the military personnel on this base with the gene are among the groups of missing people, I can't believe it's taken me this long to notice."

"Yes no problem I'll do that right away." she confirmed before she hung up the phone.

Sighing Landry climbed down the stairs to the main control room. "Walter, dial Atlantis, this can't wait until their next check in..."


	18. Explanations

**Chapter 18: Explanations**

Ronon wasn't happy with the speed at which things were going downhill. He didn't want to voice his concerns to Mitchell however as he could see that Sheppard's brother was already as wound up as a spring and looked ready to explode from worry and confusion. Ronon had been watching the corridor and he had seen the group of people being herded back into cells. It seemed smaller than it had been previously and notably Sheppard had not been returned to his cell.

Mitchell walked over from where he had been sat talking to the woman who had been put in with them. "Calm down big fella," he said in an undertone so as not to be overheard by the others "the fact that the others have come back and Shep isn't with them hasn't escaped my attention either but we can't do anything rash, we are no good to anybody dead. I saw Shep in that clinic place they had and he didn't look like they had done anything to him... they probably just want to verify that those devices in his back don't pose a threat to them. What would our reaction have been like if we had picked someone up with devices like that? Granted we wouldn't be kidnapping large groups of people but that's a side issue right now, we have to think of David and Lilly."

David had been chatting to Lilly for a while now as they cemented a bond that was forming through the shared experience of being kidnapped. David had been fretting about what his fiancé must being going through as they sat in silence with nothing to do but watch the people in the surrounding cells and chat. Lilly, relieved to have someone else who sympathised with her lack of knowledge on the current events and the worry of what family members back on earth would be going through at this moment in time, had taken it upon herself to calm him down. They had spent the last hour talking about all manner of things including where they lived, what they did for work and more importantly family.

The conversation had been on David's illness for a couple of minutes, as Lilly had had an aunt who had died of oesophageal cancer, when Mitchell could see a thought run across David's face and he looked up now puzzled and quite possibly more confused than ever. Wait I've just remembered; my doctor told me I didn't have cancer anymore right before this..." unable to find the correct word for the situation they were in he continued; "all happened and I've never felt better in my life. What the hell is going on, did you people help me?"

Mitchell had been expecting this topic to be brought up all day but he had hoped that David wouldn't ask until they were out of this particular situation. "It wasn't us per say, it was your brother." Seeing the incredulous look on David's he stopped for a second thinking through his next words. "Look it's a really long story and to be quite honest I'm sure I don't know the whole of it but while he was in captivity your brother developed the ability to heal physical injuries and, it would appear, diseases too."

"But... how? And why doesn't he heal his own injuries then? I've never seen him look so ill in his life why doesn't he just help himself as well?"

"As I said before I don't know the whole story but from what I've read some sort of drug he was given on the planet reacted with his system and caused the transformation, even the doctors don't know what really happened and so far they haven't been able to replicate it. They think that it may have reacted with a variety of different substances that have been introduced into his system over the past few years and altered his genetic sequence slightly but as I said before that's just conjecture. What they do know is that it has made him very similar to a race of aliens we call the Ancients."

Seeing the alarmed look on his face Mitchell quickly moved to assure David. "It's not as bad as you may think; the Ancients are a race that settled on earth thousands of years ago after they were nearly wiped out by a plague. They eventually died out but we think there must have been some interbreeding as a very tiny fraction of the Earth's population have genes that were specific to the Ancients, I think that may be the reason why we are here; because of one gene that the Ancients used as a lock to prevent their technology from being used by other races. The thing about the Ancients though, was that they could also heal others but, like John, they couldn't heal themselves. I do know that healing other people takes a massive toll on Shep's body, it's one of the reasons it has taken so long for him to heal after he and his team were captured; he felt the need to help one of the men who was badly injured during their rescue."

"He saved my life that day as well" Ronon added hoping to help David understand his brother a little better.

David looked astounded and from the corner of his eye Mitchell noticed that Lilly was also staring in astonishment, he could only imagine what it must be like to have so much unbelievable information thrust on you while you were in a situation that only happened on TV. He had had years to assimilate all the knowledge he was now passing on and he was still not quite sure he could believe what had happened to Sheppard, even after reading about general O'Neil's transformation into something akin to an Ancient several years before.

"But if it was going to hurt him why did John help me?" David was clearly having problems with the concept but had decided to go with what they were saying, at least for the time being.

"Because that's what he does," Ronon supplied "he can't sit by while someone suffers especially if he can help."

A wry smile crossed David's face "yeah that sounds about right. He never did think about himself."

"Don't worry, we'll figure out how to get out of this situation... we always do" Mitchell assure the pair looking to Ronon who merely gave a confidant nod in affirmation.

"I'm not sure how comforting that is; knowing that you've been in this sort of situation enough times to be that confident..."

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_A/N: well you didnt have to wait months this time... to all those who have reviewed so far a resounding thank you! i will try to reply to you all at some point and i hope to clear up various questions and omissions too :) enjoy the next chapter should only be a couple of days_


	19. Plans

_A/N: thank you so much fior the reviews! they really help and im trying to take suggestions into consideration when writing... im sorry these chapters are so short but my muse is only firing in short bursts at the moment when my mind gets time to relax; i will try to lengthen the capters from now on but enjoy :)_

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**Chapter 19: Plans**

Harvey was nervous; he had mixed news for Pietor and he wasn't entirely sure how the erratic and often violent man would react. He still hadn't told him about the strange monitoring devices and now the time had come, fortunately he had good news to soften the impact.

Swiping his hand over the panel that would signal his presence outside the door Harvey stood trying to remain calm, all the while naively hoping that Pietor was busy or not currently in his room. The door slid open and Harvey's breath hitched even as his feet unconsciously carried him into the room.

"You have news for me." It wasn't really a question, Pietor was well aware that Harvey would not bother him unless he had something useful to say, it was one of the reasons the man was still alive;, that and for some reason Pietor liked the guy. It wouldn't stop him killing him if it became necessary but for the time being he was willing to provide his current right-hand man a little leeway should he need it.

Harvey cleared his throat obviously nervous about the news he had to give his boss. "Yes the new intake is remarkably healthy, apart from several minor cases of an apparently common viral strain and some missing limbs they are all fit and we shouldn't have any problem assimilating them into the power system. Although, if I may suggest, perhaps we should wait some time before attempting to place the infants in, as far as we can tell they provide little power and the changeover has to be completed far more regularly."

"I will take it into consideration" Pietor supplied waiting for the next part of what Harvey had to say; it was obvious he was trying to put something off. "What else Harvey?"

Again Harvey paused before continuing, gathering his thoughts. "Ummm, one of the new intake has some strange devices implanted along his spine..." pre-empting Pietor's outburst he hurriedly continued; "I have already verified that they are not transmitting any data and ordered that the ship be taken out of this solar system. Furthermore, after talking with some of the other members of his group it would appear that their plant only has very rudimentary space travel and the implants are biomonitoring devices. The scientists were keen to see if they could be used to determine the stresses the power chamber place on the body so he was placed into the chamber on the last change over, since then power levels have exceeded anything we have ever encountered before and the scientists assure me the data they are currently collecting will be very useful." He handed over the data collected knowing that while Pietor was not likely to understand much of it he would still insist on having copies.

"This is very good work Harvey." Pietor said scanning the documents trying hard to prevent the man from knowing just how pleased he was. "Make sure to utilise the new intake in the upcoming changeovers, these sort of power levels could come in very useful, I see we are already travelling at a much greater rate than what we have done in the past." Looking up he could see that Harvey was still hovering obviously pleased that his boss had not decided to kill him for not informing him of the implants sooner.

"Is there something else?" he asked, curious now to see just how much the man wanted to say.

"We had to travel for months to find a planet with the gene this time; I think it may be time to start looking at a captive breeding program. It would put some of the females out of operation by way of the power chamber but it would ensure that we have a continued population of gene carriers to supply power."

Thinking over the possible implications Pietor paused. After a minute of thinking through the numbers he nodded; "Start making arrangements but wait for my go ahead, I want to discuss this with some of the scientists just to make sure we will not be putting ourselves at a disadvantage. Oh and Harvey, put together a work party from the useless section of the new intake. We are running low on supplies and we will be stopping at the next suitable planet to restock, we may as well make use of the extra workers, make sure they earn any food you are going to give them."

"Of course I will do it right away" Harvey agreed heading for the door relieved to be getting away from his erratic boss while he was still in a good mood.


	20. Return and consequent explinations

**Chapter 20: Return and consequent explanations **

O'Neil looked over at Jack as he cradled the tot they had been saddled with. They had been given a variety of items that were required for looking after children the age of the little boy including food and milk as well as a crib styled bed that seemed to mould with the soft surrounding of their cell and nappies. As much as he was enjoying looking after the tot it was bringing back memories he would rather remained buried deep within his sub-consciousness. The kid was cooing softly and laughing at the faces Jack was pulling but it was obvious to both of them that he was getting tired; his eyes were starting to droop even as he laughed. "Time for a nap I reckon, Jack." O'Neil commented as he watched the pair, "He's going to be out like a light in a few minutes, there's no point in risking waking him up when you have to move him."

Jack just nodded, gently picking Lucas up and depositing him in the crib-replica.

Yawning himself, he turned back to O'Neil and said; "They've had Sheppard a while, do you think he's ok?"

"To be honest, I haven't got a clue, but somehow I don't think they would go to all the trouble of taking us only to hurt us; they obviously need the gene for something... do you think this ship has a bit of an Ancient vibe to it?"

"There is a certain hum to it." Jack admitted, looking at the walls, studying the architecture.

The lights went out suddenly and an eerie silence descended across the ship; even the other prisoners had gone silent. It was the second time it had happened since they had been forced to join the ship and O'Neil was starting to wonder if there might be a way to take advantage of it. Their captors had not tried to take their watches so he determined to time the intervals between blackouts to try and spot a pattern they could utilise, if another opportunity to escape didn't arise before then of course. The lights came on again just as suddenly as they had gone off.

Before they could continue their conversation there was a bang from somewhere further along the corridor and the sound of something being dragged. They both approached the glass screen at the front of their cage trying to get a better look at what was going on. At first they couldn't see anything, but in less than a minute two men came into view dragging a dripping wet, unconscious, Sheppard between them. "At least he's still alive" the younger man quipped, echoing O'Neil's exact thoughts.

The pair stopped outside their cell and a third individual appeared from behind one of the hulking giants; "Move to the rear of your room and remain there until I say you can move." He ordered.

More concerned with ensuring the unconscious man hanging between the giants was alright, the two O'Neils moved rapidly to the back of the cell and stood there watching as the glass panel slid up into the ceiling and Sheppard was unceremoniously dumped on the floor near the front of the cell. A set of trousers were deposited next to him and the two giants retreated leaving the third man standing just inside the room.; "Make sure he is dried and dressed and when he wakes give him food and water so that he regains his strength." He instructed of the O'Neils.

"What did you do to him?" O'Neil asked as he looked looking towards the man, not worried about concealing the malice in his voice and on his features.

"Nothing that he won't recover from." Was the man's simple reply as he backed out of the cell and hit a button, causing the glass front to slide back into place.

As soon as the cell front was back in place both men approached Sheppard. There were no new external injuries other than a small cut on his lower back that still was still bleeding sluggishly as far as they could tell and, apart from the fact that he was dripping wet, Sheppard could have just been sleeping. There was a slight hitch in his breath as he inhaled, but until he woke up they had no way of telling what was causing this, so they set to the task of taking off his wet clothes, towelling him off and then pulling the scrub style trousers back on. The entire time he didn't as so much as move.

Once they were finished they both sat back and settled in to wait for the man to wake up. Looking across at the other cell, O'Neil could see Mitchell and Ronon trying to calm a frantic David, obviously trying to explain that there was nothing they could do at that moment.

As time went by, Sheppard became restless as he slept and moaned. It looked like he was having a bad dream and O'Neil was undecided about whether to try once more to wake him up. As the movement became more frantic O'Neil moved in, Jack staying further back, not wanting to scare the man should he wake up suddenly to faces he didn't really know. As he got closer, O'Neil noticed that Sheppard was rubbing the centre of his chest directly over an old scar and muttering low verbal protests as he did. Suddenly Sheppard began to thrash frantically. Deciding enough was enough O'Neil grabbed the nearest towel and, used it to put a barrier between his hands and Sheppard's skin. He grabbed Sheppard firmly by the shoulders and shook him with some insistency. "It's time to wake up, Colonel." He told Sheppard as he shook him and Sheppard began to come round.

Almost as soon as Sheppard opened his eyes he began to cough deep, hacking, wet coughs that sounded as though his lungs were trying to exit his body violently.

"Well, that sounds healthy," O'Neil quipped as he helped Sheppard to sit up and breathe. "have you got any injuries we should know about?"

Sheppard was still coughing and didn't look like he had completely understood the question, but instead of speaking he just shook his head indicating no. "Ok, well that's a good start, I suppose." O'Neil said to no one in particular.

O'Neil saw Sheppard visibly tense as he came back to the world of awareness; he took in a deep breath and then let it out as he groaned softly.

"That is putting put a new spin on the Duracell Energizer bunny," he groaned, his voice barely audible.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked as he watched from his position further across the room. Sheppard levered himself up a little more into a better sitting position,. O'Neil could already see that the man wouldn't be able to maintain the posture for long and reached over with his towel clad hand to steady him. Sheppard was looking incredibly pale beneath his black mop of hair and was starting to shake even as they watched. He nodded in response to jack's question, drawing in another deep breath to talk, but instead it was released in a wet hacking cough that lasted a minute or so. When the coughing fit stopped Sheppard drew in a much smaller breath and said,; "I think this is an Ancient ship, but it's different to anything I've ever experienced before. I think these people, whoever they are, have found a way to harvest energy from people with the Ancient gene. We're living batteries to them essentially. It's not a pleasant experience, but I don't think it does any lasting damage."

"Are you sure?" O'Neil asked insistently; he wanted to know exactly how dangerous the situation they now found themselves in actually was.

"I can't be one hundred percent, what with the whole breathing liquid thing, but overall I just feel a bit weak; like I just healed someone, only not as bad."

"Wait, back up... breathing liquid?!" Jack demanded, clearly as worried as O'Neil was.

"Yeah, sorry I wasn't clear." Taking a deep, raspy breath Sheppard continued. "They put you in a big liquid-filled tank they call the power cell. At first it feels like you're are drowning, but once your lungs are full of liquid it's just like breathing; It must be some sort of oxygen rich liquid."

A look of incredulity passed between the two O'Neil's; it sounded like something straight out of a science fiction show and that was really saying something with all that they had seen.

Seeing the look, Sheppard couldn't help but smile before he continued, guessing what they had been thinking. "It's not totally unheard of, even on Earth. I've heard of oxygenated liquid being used on premature babies that don't have fully formed lungs; it helps to take the strain of breathing off their lungs until they have had more time to form."

The O'Neil's looked a little less disbelieving now; "Even so, this can't be the same thing; your lungs are definitely already formed."

"Yeah, so were the lungs of the girl in the tank before me," Sheppard muttered before continuing "Maybe the liquid acts as some form of medium for the energy transfer, although why you have to breathe it's is beyond me. I'm fairly sure it's is literally a power cell though, as because when they took the girl that was in before me out the ship shut down, all the lights went off and the engines sounded like they powered down."

"That happened again not long ago, right before you were brought back" O'Neil admitted., Sheppard's idea of what was going on was starting to seem more credible with every minute that he thought about it. Looking back at Sheppard, O'Neil could see that he was starting to fade again so, heeding the advice of their captors, he made sure Sheppard was going to be able to support himself before he got up and retrieved a bottle of some sort of drink that tasted a bit like earth energy drinks and a flat, round piece of food that seemed to be somewhere between a biscuit and a piece of bread in texture. It had little to no taste, but both he and Jack had succumbed to hunger and eaten and drunk a small amount, suffering no ill effects so O'Neil decided it was probably worth trying to keep Sheppard's strength up. Returning to the man's side he handed him the food and said "Eat this and then get some rest, we need to be as fit as possible in order to be ready when the opportunity comes to get out of here. The exhausted man didn't have the energy to argue so he took the food; and within minutes he had eaten and fallen asleep again. Making sure he was lying in a comfortable position on the floor; O'Neil covered Sheppard with the dry towel that hadn't been used so as to hide his scarred and modified body from the prying eyes of the members of the cell opposite and keep him warm. He had been aware of some commotion in the other cell upon Sheppard's return but had steadfastly refused to acknowledge it, assuming that Mitchell would be able to deal with the situation.

**30 minutes earlier...**

The lights had gone out and come back on again and Mitchell was beginning to worry. Dave and Lily were starting to panic a little, to be honest he was surprised it had taken this long to happen - they had been taking what was happening well, all things considered. However, the constant strain of not knowing what was happening, wondering if their loved ones were alright and the sudden disappearance of the lights was starting to wear them down and Mitchell was pretty sure he could see cracks starting to show. Lily had taken to sitting as close to the front of the opposite cell as she could get and, although Mitchell was pretty sure she wasn't aware of it, she was rocking as she watched every movement her son made. David on the other hand, was wasting what could prove to be valuable energy later, pacing frantically back and forth across the small expanse of their cell. He was muttering something beneath his breath but Mitchell couldn't make it out from where he was standing.

Mitchell turned as he felt rather than heard Ronon come up behind him. "We need to find a way to calm them down," Ronon stated quietly, "we can't afford to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves."

"I know, big guy. I'm just not really sure what we can do..." he paused as he ran though all the methods he had learned for calming people during his years in SG-1, but drew a blank when he realised he had never had to deal with untrained family members who had no idea of the potential of space travel. Shrugging, he cleared his throat, hoping to draw their attention before he started speaking. Before he could even start to speak, David made a bee line for the front of the cell as Sheppard came into view, hanging limply between two guards.

Mitchell was thankful to see that the guards were still wearing gloves and so no skin was coming into contact with the unconscious man. He could see from where he was standing that Sheppard was still breathing - slow, deep, regular breaths with no obvious injuries so he hoped that Sheppard was only unconscious and not injured in any way that might complicate a future escape attempt.

David watched every movement the guards made and gasped aloud when they turned to deposit Sheppard on the floor, exposing his bare torso for all to see. David took in every single blemish on Sheppard's skin as the guards walked away and Mitchell was relived to realise that he was waiting for them to be out of earshot before he began to voice his worries and questions.

When finally the guards had been gone for several minutes David managed to peel his eyes away from Sheppard long enough to ask, "What the hell have they done to him?! He's a mess!"

"None of that was done here," Ronon replied. Mitchell couldn't get used to the big man saying much and he was still taken by surprise when he volunteered information. "Mitchell told you earlier he had been injured during a mission, that's why it has taken him so long to recover, his injuries were extensive."

"What about the things in his back?"

"Those are the bio-monitoring devices I was talking to Ronon about earlier," Mitchell admitted, not wanting to go into too much detail at that point;. "Again, it's a long story probably best told at a later date."

David merely nodded, turning back to watch the O'Neils drying off his brother and changing him into dry clothes. He was surprised when David didn't ask any more questions but realised that the questions would probably come later when the man had had a chance to adjust to the reality he was currently facing. For the time being he settled down on the floor next to Lily and wrapped his arm around her, both offering her comfort and as well as drawing comfort for himself from the action.

After about 20 minutes of the entire group watching Sheppard sleep, the man in question began to thrash violently and O'Neil grabbed a towel to wake him up. Mitchell was eternally grateful that O'Neil took such a keen interest in the welfare of his subordinates and made every effort to keep up to date on their mental and physical states. This meant that he was aware of the need not to have skin to skin contact with Sheppard, bit but it did present David with another opportunity to ask a question,; "I noticed earlier on that those two are being very careful to cover their hands with towels. Earlier I thought it was just because they were drying him off, but the older guy, the general, he just made sure his hands were wrapped in that towel before he touched John. Why is that?

David could have been talking to anyone as he never took his eyes off his brother who, although now sitting up, looked incredibly groggy and was coughing frequently.

Mitchell was amazed at how observant David was being, but looked helplessly at Ronon; he had only just learnt about John's condition and he certainly didn't know the circumstances behind it.

Ronon frowned with the realisation that he was going to have to try and explain what was going on.

David had been unaware of the silent exchange occurring behind him, but when neither of them started talking he turned around "well?"

Ronon shifted uncomfortably as the eyes of everyone in their cell came to rest on him. "When we were captured on our last mission the guy that held us captive gave Sheppard drugs. No one really understands what happened, not the doctors and not the guy that held us captive. From what the doctors say, it appears the combination of drugs mixed with the trauma of his injuries altered Sheppard's DNA... if he touches anyone who is injured or ill he heals them but it usually costs him..." Ronon trailed off, not sure it if that actually answered David's question, not knowing if he had said too much, - this was why he preferred leaving the speaking to other people.

David just stared, his mouth hanging open slightly. But it wasn't David who broke the silence.

"Who are you people?" Lily demanded.

Mitchell was patient with her. "As I said before, we're are with a branch of the military, Ronon's a consultant, but essentially we are we're space explorers, for lack of a better explanation."

Now it was David's turn to talk; "But we've only managed to send people to the moon; how can you explore space and did John heal me? I haven't felt this good in a really long time..."

"Our technology is much more advanced than you think. Originally we were travelling using stable wormholes, but over time we made friends with advanced cultures and they helped us to develop spaceships capable of inter-galaxy travel. And yes, we are fairly sure that Shep healed you; he wasn't supposed to, but I don't know how anyone could truly believe he wouldn't try to save his brother. You're lucky you only had cancer, apparently that's easier to heal than physical injuries." He wasn't sure how much of this was going over David's head, but he felt it would be easier to tell him all at once rather than in little bits.

David gaped. "If you had tried to tell me this on Earth I would have thought you were absolutely crazy and spent way too much time watching that terrible show, _Wormhole Extreme_."

Mitchell grimaced. "Yeah, that show was given the go ahead with the idea of promoting that sort of reaction should members of the public ever encounter a whistle-blower; or a situation we weren't able to contain..."

"That figures," David said slightly grumpily. "trust the government not to trust the population with something like this. You know, if they told us about the possibility of this happening then people could be more prepared for it! I almost feel bad for people who claim they have been abducted by aliens... how many of those are real?"

David's rant petered out, but Mitchell felt the need to answer his question "Before 2003 it's highly likely that a lot of them are telling the truth; an alien was caught abducting people and replacing them with clones until he was done with them. That's how young Jack over there happened; a glitch in the cloning process. Since then though it's less likely; we have very good detection and defence systems in place."

"I think you might need to put some more work into them." Lily pointed out, and indicating their surroundings.

"I didn't say it was a fool proof system,." Mitchell replied slightly defensive,. "We're getting off topic here; the point is Shep will be fine and we will work out a way to get out of here and back home."

It was at that moment the sound of cells further down the corridor being opened reached their ears. A moment later they also heard a voice instructing, "Where possible, take two men from each cell." Mitchell vaguely recognised the speaker as the man who had quizzed him about Sheppard earlier.

It took another couple of minutes before a large group of armed men with a slightly smaller group of prisoners stopped in front of their cell. The prisoner's clothes were in various states of disrepair, indicating that some of them had been on board longer than the newest arrivals. The guard who appeared to be in charge of the group had a cursory glance inside the cell before saying, "you two" indicating David and Ronon, "work party." The cell was opened and a glaring Ronon and a slightly unsure David stepped out, joining the group standing in front of them. As they did, there was a noticeable change in the sound of the ships working.

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_A/N: As one reviewer pointed out recently it has been almost 8 months since the last time I updated and for that im eternally sorry. This year has been one of my busiest and I just dont seem to have much time for writing at the moment... you can thank one reviewer for stroking my ego and several long train rides for the next few chapters and I will try much harder to finish the story off in style :)_

_A Huge shout out must also go to my new beta AmyCat for reading my chapters with a critical eye and offering helpful advice  
_


	21. Work Party

**Chapter 21: Work Party**

Whilst their cell was a long way down the corridor they weren't quite the last ones and it took another several minutes to collect people from the remaining cells. By the time they had reached the last cell the group had swollen to outnumber the guards but only just. This served to reinforce Ronon's opinion that whoever these people were they knew what they were doing and had experience in controlling large groups of people.

When the final two people joined the group the lead guard turned to face them. "You have been selected as a works party. This means that you will be sent down to the planet we are currently travelling around to collect supplies. There is no civilisation on this planet so running would be futile, we will not chase you but you will be left on the planet to fend for yourselves when we continue on our journey. Furthermore," The guard continued, "It is in your best interests to collect as much of the supplies we require as you can as you will be the last people on this vessel to be fed; if we run out of supplies before we reach another planet with suitable resources you will not be fed."

_That was effective_ Ronon thought looking around the group he was with; most carried looks of resigned determination and, looking closer at some, the shabbier dressed people in the group, some showed signs of the promise of the statement in their skinny frames. When he was finished talking the guard turned and led the group through a door on the left hand of the corridor. Ronon hadn't noticed it immediately as it was set into the rear of an empty cell. The door led into the largest ancient transporter Ronon had ever seen, it dwarfed the size of even the largest in Atlantis leading Ronon to wonder exactly how large the ship really was. When the door opened once again they were led into a cavernous hanger that contained dozes of what were unmistakably puddle jumpers although they had leads that were glowing a dull blue attached to them.

The group was split into three smaller groups and directed to enter the jumpers. Upon entering Ronon saw still more differences as he glimpsed the inside of the cockpit. It looked as if these people, whoever they were, had been able to do the one thing the earthlings had been unable to; power and control the jumpers without the ancient gene. The cockpit had a huge number of wires snaking from control panels and conduits, all connecting to a centralised control unit that looked a bit like the pictures Sheppard had shown Ronon of the helms on boats. Ronon couldn't help but smile as he was ordered to sit, in doing so he lost his vision of the cockpit. McKay would possibly result to killing to have a chance to examine this set up and Ronon now knew that if a hasty escape was necessary a small number of people would be able to get away and possibly get help for all the other people imprisoned on the ship.

The jumper lurched unsteadily as it took off throwing Ronon back into the present, it was apparent that either the pilot wasn't particularly capable or the steering system was very inefficient or a combination of both. Every little piece of information Ronon gleaned was stored away for future use; he wasn't adverse to physical work and as such he viewed this as a sort of recce mission.

The ride to the planet was brief and completely quiet. When they landed they were ushered out once again and placed back into one large group. The lead guard that had first addressed them was back again, this time holding a box which he put on the ground before removing an object from inside it, "This is one of the fruits you will be collecting today..." This introduction to the local food sources lasted several minutes in which several garishly coloured fruits were shown before the group was split into those who would collect food and those who would be searching for water.

Ronon and David were both placed in a food group. As they started off into trees that looked like willow trees that bristled with fruit a particularly ragged prisoner broke off from the larger group. "Would you mind if I joined you?" the man asked with no indication that he was unsure of himself.

Before Ronon could answer David chipped in "I don't see why not."

"Thanks" said the man smiling warmly "When you've done this as many times as I have you learn to collect with the strongest looking newcomers.

Ronon was interested now; maybe this man would have useful information...

"Why's that?" David asked, it was obvious he had seen and opportunity to gain more information from the man as well.

"I recognise areas that will be high in food production, always been good at it even if it isn't my planet, so I guide the strongest to them then help them collect as much as physically possible." He shrugged "It works in my favour to ensure that we all collect as much as possible so that we have a better chance of eating. Take my word for it; seven meal cycles without food is very unpleasant and no offence meant" he directed at David "you may not be much but the big guy like he could carry a lot" he directed this last part at Ronon. "So come on then enough talk lets work!"

The man walked off into the forest and Ronon and David just looked at each other before following.

As they walked Ronon asked "Do you know how long you have been on the ship?"

The man just shrugged again never looking back as he walked "I've learnt that every civilisation measures time differently on their planets so my time keeping probably means nothing to you, I've been on the ship as you call it longer than most of the others or you could say..." he stopped for a moment thinking "over one thousand meal cycles."

Ronon thought about this for a minute and decided a meal cycle was probably a day and taking this into account the man had been a captive for over three years. "What do they want the other for?" he asked.

"they power the vessel we are currently living on, have you not noticed the strange losses of power? That happens during changeovers."

Ronon nodded thinking about the timing of the last blackout followed by Sheppard's return.

"What?!" David demanded. "Do they hurt them?" he looked really scared, reflecting the worry Ronon himself was suppressing.

By this point their small group had reached a large clump of trees heavily laden with the fruit they had been told to pick. The man, who Ronon realised, had yet to give them a name, dumped his basket on the floor scurried up the tree and, while with one hand he stuffed fruit into his mouth, he began to pick fruit as fast as possible placing it in the basket.

Ronon indicated to David that they should do the same as the man answered their question; "The ones in the cells around me always come back in one piece. They sleep a lot and some of them cough like they are sick but we don't usually get to communicate with the others but I haven't see the ones that were taken at the same time as me for around three hundred meal cycles. I don't know where they have gone..."

Ronon nodded, it sounded like Sheppard and the O'Neils were safe enough for the time being. He had every intention of being on his way home before seven hundred meal cycles had passed.

The rest of the day passed relatively peacefully, they got into the rhythm of the work and soon vast amounts of fruit were being loaded into jumpers. When it came time to finish Ronon, David and their mystery guide returned to the meeting point where a quick headcount was conducted.

Ronon was relatively surprised to discover that everyone had returned. His surprise must have bee obvious in some way to their guide as he turned to Ronon as they loaded back into the jumpers. "We don't normally have any runaways unless there has been a prolonged food shortage and people decide letting go of hope is the better option to starving."

Ronon nodded in understanding, he was going to have to keep a close eye on every little detail of the guards routines from now on; he didn't want to go through one of these protracted food shortages and risk losing members of the team. The shortages must be severe to cause a loss of hope.

Before long they were back in their cells, after an uncomfortable few minutes in the corridor in which their group had gotten a good look at Sheppard, and relaying what they had learnt to Mitchell and Lily, Ronon choosing to omit telling Lily why her son was wanted.

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_A/N: Once again i find myself apologising i can only blame yet another country move and a the start of a medical degree... spare time is limited and sleeping has become somewhat of a priority but i promise this story will have an ending no matter how long it takes! Next chapter is almost done with the editing stages and i will post it shortly i hope you enjoyed this one. Again a big thank you to my beta amycat :)  
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	22. Frustration

**Chapter 22: Frustration**

Samantha Carter was frustrated; despite sending several expeditions to the planet where SGA-1 had been captured they were still no closer to discovering why Sheppard had developed the abilities he had. The king on the planet had been moved to a more appropriate prison than the one Lorne's team had originally found him in but he had been unable to explain what had happened. Furthermore, even though the locals had allowed unlimited access to the King's palace, labs and the cell block doctor Keller had drawn a blank.

On top of this she had just received a rather peeved message from the IOA asking her to explain why, despite the fact that she was refusing to allow Sheppard to travel to earth as he was too valuable to the expedition, his name had been listed among the names of people involved in a mass disappearance. These names, she had been informed, also included Ronon Dex, Cameron Mitchell and David Sheppard as well as numerous people across the planet including the O'Neils. This news was more than troubling and she worried about both her old and new team mates. What's more, she was trying to come up with some sort of plausible explanation as to why Sheppard had miraculously appeared on earth. She had thought to indicate that John Sheppard was a fairly common name but figured they would argue that the names of his particular group would indicate that it was indeed the John Sheppard they had been inquiring about and demand proof that he was currently in Atlantis.

Sighing she turned to the man standing beside her; "Radek could we get the long range scanners up?" It wouldn't hurt to be on the cautious side "and recall all the offworld teams back to Atlantis until we can find out exactly what is going on, there's no point taking any unnecessary risks."

Radek nodded in agreement and moved off to do as asked.

_Show us where you are_ Carter silently thought to the stars shining above her head.

* * *

_A/N: just a short one to keep you going... a big thanks to sara who provided one of the nicest, most flattering comments ive ever had and of course to my beta amycat  
_


	23. Visibility

**Chapter 23: Visibility**

Sheppard groaned, he had been unable to sleep for any length of time as he had been woken frequently by bouts of coughing as his body tried to purge the remaining liquid from his lungs. As he tried to make himself more comfortable on the padded floor he realised the ship felt different; he had already identified the hum of the ship as the familiar hum of ancient technology but it was distant and inaccessible as though someone had turned the volume down and you had to strain hard to hear it. There was no sense of motion in space but Sheppard could still tell that they had stopped travelling; it was in the way the ship seemed to sigh in relief at the chance to stop travelling even if it knew it would only be for a short time. He didn't know how he knew this but he was certain he was right and it led to questions such as how long had these people been living on this ship travelling the universe and abducting people.

Turning over carefully, mindful of his weak, healing, shoulder he realised that both the O'Neils were watching him from where they lay. "Sorry if I woke you" he said sheepishly.

"We were already awake," Jack told him "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Sheppard said realising it was the truth, he still had the cough but he no longer felt as weak as a newborn kitten. He wondered how much of this was down to his accelerated healing and how much was down to just being able to rest for a while.

"Do you want to try eating something?" O'Neil asked.

Sheppard just shook his head. There was a bang in the corridor and Sheppard looked out through the Perspex front of their cell and into the one opposite. He sat up in alarm "Where are Ronon and Dave?"

"We don't know," O'Neil admitted "They were taken a few hours ago." Seeing the look on Sheppard's face he continued; "we didn't wake you as there would have been absolutely nothing you could have done and you needed your rest." Forging ahead before Sheppard could think to interrupt he added; "Me and Jack have very little connection with our ancient gene but even we can sense this ship is ancient technology. When it comes time for it we need you in the best condition possible, we all know you are our best option to take control of the ship."

Sheppard deflated a bit, he couldn't argue with the logic of the statement. Looking back across at the cell he could have sworn he heard the muffled footsteps of a large group of people. It took him a minute to get to his feet but by this time he was sure he could hear people moving. He moved to the front of the cell and then to the corner furthest from the noise as this position allowed him the fullest view possible down the corridor.

They were only a couple of cells down from where Sheppard stood and he could clearly see his brother and Ronon from where he stood. They were sweaty and dirty and looked quite quiet but they also looked unharmed. Sheppard watched the group as they came closer, stopping at each cell to deposit a couple of people each time. Watching them move he became happier in the knowledge that they were moving freely and without pain.

When the group stopped in front of his cell and it was David and Ronon's turn to enter their cell Sheppard became aware of the fact that nobody had given him a top to replace the one that had been removed in the exam room earlier. Some of the members of the group had noticed his marred torso and as they exclaimed others turned to look. Feeling self conscious he wrapped his arms around himself as best he could backing away, not willing to reveal his back, grateful when Jack and O'Neil stepped in front of him to shield him from sight. That didn't stop him seeing the look of pity in his brother's eyes. For some reason this made him mad, his brother had been dying of cancer the day before, he shouldn't be the one feeling pity for him.

Ronon and David were returned to their cells and the rest of the group was moved on. When they were out of sight Sheppard turned his back on the world outside their cell, he couldn't take much more of his brother's sidelong glances. "I'm getting real bored of this really quickly" he admitted.

"Maybe you should sit down John." O'Neil said.

John looked over his shoulder to see O'Neil studying his back; he had quite rightly deduced that John was in quite a lot of pain from wrapping his arms tightly around himself. Sighing in frustration he shrugged off the proposition and began to pace the cell. "We need to find a way out of here sooner rather than later; I've never been good at playing the peaceful captive for long."

"Tell me about it" The O'Neils echoed then O'Neil turned to Jack and said "You missed out on some doozies."

Jack just smiled "Just you wait till I'm older, old man." Sounding very mature for his teenage years before completely shattering that image by sticking his tongue out. The group just dissolved into laughter.

The lights went out suddenly as all the ships power cut out in one moment. A minute later the power had been restored but the jovial mood that had filled the cell just a minute before was now long gone. Lucas also chose this moment to start crying. Sheppard went to pick him up but O'Neil got there first; "Do you really think that's a good idea?" he asked first indicating Sheppard's shoulder and then adding "Is it worth risking skin to skin contact?"

Sheppard sighed in frustration "I hadn't thought about that, this could get really old really fast and could be really compromising out on operations unless I manage to get control of it." He admitted now thoroughly depressed. Thinking of something he continued "We really need to keep that kid away from their so called power chamber though, I don't want him to go through that sort of trauma if we can avoid it..."

"Agreed" Jack said and O'Neil nodded to indicate he agreed, bouncing the bawling toddler to quiet him before picking up something that was very similar in size and shape to a bottle to give to the boy quieting him as he guzzled whatever was inside the bottle. Once he was sure the tot had a good grasp on the bottle he turned to Sheppard and said; "You've seen more of this ship than either of us, have you got any starting points?"

Sheppard thought for a minute eventually shaking his head, annoyed with himself. "Thinking about it they were careful to make sure I didn't see much of importance, I'm not really even that sure how the doors are opened... I suppose we should see if there is any way of taking advantage of the power outages, maybe see if there is a way to get the cell door open with or without power. Once we are out of the cells I should think we will be in a better position to take control of the ship. It might be worth finding a way to see if Ronon and his knives can find a way to open the doors, with bars on their cells he has more access to any exterior panels that there might be. I'll try to find a way to force a connection with the ship; it's ancient so it must have a neural control network... these people seem to have found a way to bypass it though."

"Sounds like a good start." O'Neil admitted placing his squirming bundle on the floor before giving him something brightly coloured and jangly that he assumed was supposed to pass as a toy. As the tot started to happily play where he sat he added; "It might also be worth seeing if we can't find out a bit more about these people and where they found the ship and why they are always on the move, numbers might help as well..."

"The other thing I think we need to consider is from the way they were talking earlier I'm pretty sure they have video feeds of every cell. I'm not sure about sound but until we know for sure we need to be cautious, especially when we try to communicate with others. If they think we are up to something then they will probably try to separate us; there's certainly enough free cells on this level for them to go as far as locking us up individually."

"Noted." O'Neil said considering the implications of their actions and how to bypass the security. "Maybe we can use this little one and his mother to our advantage; I would never put them in any danger but we may be able to cause a commotion long enough to communicate with the others."

"We would need to find a way to get the front of the cell open first." Jack added

"I don't think that's going to be a problem" Sheppard completed, looking up the O'Neils could see that he had gone pale and both moved towards him expecting him to collapse again but he just shook his head and instead they turned to see what he was looking at.

Standing in front of their cell were the same group of guards that had bought Sheppard back not long before. The front of their cell opened and this time instead of indicating that Sheppard should come they pointed at O'Neil. The lights flickered and the guards looked up, worry flashing across their faces before they became more insistent that O'Neil hurry up.

Sheppard sent a parting few word of advice as O'Neil turned to exit the cell squaring his shoulders as he did; "It going to sound like terrible advice but don't fight it just take a breath... it might hurt less that way..."

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_A/N: This chapter has not been beta'd as i wanted to get it out to you as soon as it was finished so any mistakes are entirely my own. On a side note keep the reviews coming they really are whats driving me to keep writing at all around my work load :)  
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	24. Shutdown

**Chapter 24: Shutdown **

Pietor was getting frustrated and that was making Harvey nervous. "So what you are telling me is that the new provider gave us a huge boost in power?"

"Yes sir," Harvey answered rapidly "We were not projected to reach the resupply planet for several solar cycles yet but as you are aware we have now replenished out stores and are underway once more."

"So why are we not continuing at such a pace?" Pietor demanded. "you have replaced him with another provider from his planet have you not?"

"Yes" Harvey once more agreed steeling his breath to tell Pietor the next part; "but she did not provide as much power and we have had to initiate emergency cell change." The lights flickered above their heads.

"What process will be affected?" Pietor asked, his focus changing to the necessary arrangements he would have to make.

"Nothing that cannot be restarted immediately afterwards." Harvey admitted relief running through his body at that fact, he was not sure what would have happed to him had one of the important processes that the colony on the ship relied on such as food processing been disrupted. "We are replacing the current provider with one that shares a cell with the previous provider."

"Can you not just replace it with the previous provider?"

Harvey flinched at the depersonalisation of the woman currently providing power to the ship but answered non-the-less. "The technicians have said that we must wait at least one solar cycle between insertions or the providers burn out far too quickly."

Pietor huffed "Very well. Do what you have to do but tell chief scientist Vland that I want a live feed of the power levels and our progress patched straight through to my quarters."

Harvey smiled thinking of Vland's reaction to the information he was going to have his work and decisions scrutinised by Pietor. "Of course Pietor, I'll get on that straight away." Knowing that the demand had included a dismissal he contacted both Vland and his standard collection detail as he moved, the flickering of the lights a constant reminder that they needed to act sooner rather than later.

Mitchell was frustrated; they had just watched O'Neil being led out of sight but not before both he and Ronon had spotted him discreetly signing that they should gather as much information as possible and look for a way to get the cell doors open. "Did you see how nervous those guards got when the lights flickered?" He asked Ronon "I wonder what happens if the power goes down for any length of time..."

"I've never been on a ship where it has been a major problem, unless we were being attacked; then it was a problem." Ronon admitted "I also haven't seen how they open the cell doors, must be an external control that's not in the corridor..."

"That will make things more complicated it sounds like they might be operated in a similar manner to cell doors in prisons on earth, we need to find out more about these people, why don't they settle." He turned to include Lily and David in what he said next; "Whenever we get the chance to get out of this cell ask questions but be careful who you ask, we need to get as much information as possible but don't put yourselves at risk." Lily and David nodded, they had probably seen enough movies to understand what he meant and were scared enough to make sure they didn't get caught.

"Right I suggest that everyone rest and relax; conserve your energy. From what Ronon and David said we know that our food supply may be unreliable so you should all try and get some sleep, we'll ration what food we are given to make sure we have energy when we need it."

They all nodded their agreement but Lily looked wistfully over to her son who was happily playing with a toy of some sort, oblivious to the peril he was in. Seeing the look Mitchell said "This is going to sound harsh but you need to focus more on yourself; your son will be fed and provided for and I can guarantee you he is in the best hands, there is no way the O'Neils will let anything happen to him. Lily sighed a single tear rolling down he face but she nodded again and Mitchell was pretty sure he had gotten through to her. They all lay down as Mitchell and Ronon silently agreed that Cam would take the first watch. Just as they lay down the lights went off...

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_A/N: Im really trying to keep up with at least one update a week and this is mostly due to the fantastic reviews people have left, I have exams coming up for the next few weeks but I will try to post at least one short chapter a week anyway for now enjoy this little filler!  
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